Fueled by a full week of hype, the latest chapter of the Jets/Patriots rivalry scored the largest audience on record for an NFL Divisional Round game.
Sunday’s Jets/Patriots AFC Divisional Round game drew a 24.2 final rating and 43.463 million viewers on CBS, up 20% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (NYJ/SD: 20.1, 35.627 mil), and up 24% and 27%, respectively, from 2009 (SD/PIT: 19.6, 34.107 mil)
The Jets’ win ranks as the most-viewed NFL Divisional Round game, regardless of day or timeslot, dating back to at least the 1987-88 season (as far back as CBS records go).
Excluding Conference Championship games and the Super Bowl, this is only the second time in the past ten seasons that an NFL telecast has topped 40 million viewers.
The record for Jets/Patriots comes one week after Packers/Eagles drew the largest audience on record for an NFL Wild Card game (39.3 mil).
In addition to the viewership record, the 24.2 rating for Jets/Patriots is the highest for a Divisional Round game since the 1996-97 season (DAL/CAR: 27.6, FOX).
CBS averaged 38.5 million viewers for its two Divisional Round games, the highest average ever for the Divisional Round on a single network. The AFC games on CBS outdrew both NFC contests on FOX.
(CBS press release from TV By The Numbers, pifeedback.com)
