The 49ers and Seahawks delivered one of the largest audiences ever for an NFL conference championship game.
Sunday’s 49ers/Seahawks NFC Championship Game drew a 28.5 final rating and 55.9 million viewers on FOX, up 12% in ratings and 17% in viewership from Ravens/Patriots on CBS last year (25.5, 47.7M), but down 7% and 3%, respectively, from Giants/49ers in 2012 (30.6, 57.6M).
49ers/Seahawks earned the fifth-largest audience ever for an NFL conference championship game, trailing only Giants/49ers in 2012, Vikings/Saints in 2010 (57.9M), Cowboys/49ers in 1995 (56.8M) and Cowboys/49ers in 1982 (68.7M). The 49ers have played in four of the five most-viewed games.
The 28.5 rating is also the fourth-highest for a conference championship game since 1997, trailing only the 2012, 2010, and 2008 NFC games.
Overall, the 2014 conference championship games tied the second-highest viewership average ever — matching 2012 (53.7M) and trailing only 1982 (60.2M).
Seattle was the top market for Sunday’s game (54.3), followed by the Bay Area (47.5). Milwaukee was the top market outside of Washington or California (38.9). In Denver and Boston, the local markets for the AFC Championship Game, 49ers/Seahawks earned ratings of 36.9 and 22.9, respectively.
(Sun. numbers from Fox Sports, NFL Communications; local numbers from ShowBuzz Daily)
