To the surprise of few, overnight ratings increased for both of the NFL’s Conference Championship games Sunday.
The Patriots/Broncos AFC Championship Game earned a 29.5 overnight rating on CBS Sunday afternoon, up 13% from 49ers/Falcons on FOX last year (26.1), and up 1% from Ravens/Patriots in 2012 (29.1). The 29.5 overnight is the second-best for the early Sunday window since at least the 1998-99 season.
The 29.5 is also the second-best for the AFC Championship Game, regardless of timeslot, since 1987.
Despite the Brady vs. Manning hype, the early timeslot and lopsided score kept Broncos/Patriots from being the top game of the day. That honor belonged to the 49ers/Seahawks NFC Championship Game, which earned a 31.0 overnight on FOX — up 11% from Ravens/Patriots on CBS last year (27.9), but down 7% from Giants/49ers in 2012 (33.4).
The 31.0 overnight is the third-lowest for the evening window since 2007, ahead of only Ravens/Patriots last year and Ravens/Steelers in 2009 (23.8M). With that said, the 31.0 is also the fifth-highest for any conference championship telecast since at least 1997.
(Sun. overnights from Sports Business Daily)
