Like its NFC counterpart, the AFC Championship Game saw a double-digit decline in the ratings.
The Steelers’ win over the Ravens drew a 22.0 rating and 40.6 million viewers on CBS Sunday night, down 14% and 10% from a 25.7 and 44.8 million for last year’s AFC title game between the Chargers and Patriots, which aired in the early afternoon window.
Compared to the game in the same timeslot last year, Ravens/Steelers was off 24% and 25% from a 29.0 and 53.9 million for the Giants/Packers NFC title game on FOX.
The 22.0 is the second-lowest rating for an NFL Conference Championship game since 2006, behind only the 21.9 the NFC title game drew earlier in the day. Additionally, the 22.0 is the second-lowest rating for a Conference Championship game in the 6:30 PM window since the current schedule format began in 2003.
Despite the decline, the AFC title game still finishes as the highest rated, most viewed program of the television season, and is the most viewed television program on any network since last year’s Super Bowl.
