For CBS, all the hype in the world could not overcome a blowout on the least-viewed night of the week.
Saturday’s AFC Divisional Round game, a 45-10 victory for the Patriots over the Broncos, earned an 18.5 final rating and 34.161 million viewers on CBS — up 9% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year’s comparable game (GB/ATL: 17.0, 30.817M, FOX), and up 9% and 12%, respectively, from the comparable game in 2010 (BAL/IND: 17.0, 30.569M).
The game ranks as the most-viewed Saturday night Divisional Round game since the window was created in the 2001-02 season, and the second-most viewed Saturday Divisional Round game — regardless of timeslot — of the past decade. Only Saints/49ers on FOX earlier in the day (35.6M) earned a larger audience.
Though strong compared to previous years, Broncos/Patriots was the lowest rated Divisional Round game of the week, trailing even Texans/Ravens (19.0). In viewership, the game topped Texans/Ravens, but trailed both NFC contests on FOX.
Entering Saturday’s game, there had been speculation that Broncos/Patriots would end up as the highest rated Divisional Round NFL game ever. What prognosticators failed to take into account, however, was the fact that the Saturday night window is frequently the weakest of the Divisional Round. Had Broncos/Patriots aired at 4:30 PM on Sunday — and been closer — perhaps those predictions would have had some merit.
(Saturday’s numbers from Media Life Magazine, with additional information from Sports Business Daily)
