As usual, the late Sunday afternoon window attracted the biggest NFL audience of the weekend.
Sunday’s Chargers/Broncos AFC Divisional Round game drew a 23.0 final rating and 41.1 million viewers on CBS, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — up 6% in ratings and 9% in viewership from Texans/Patriots last year (21.7, 37.7M), but down 9% in both measures from Giants/Packers on FOX in 2012 (25.3, 45.1M).
Chargers/Broncos was the top draw of the weekend, earning the third-largest audience for any Divisional Round game since 1997. Only Giants/Packers in 2012 and Jets/Patriots in 2011 (43.5M) drew more viewers over the past 17 years.
Among AFC games only, Chargers/Broncos was also the third-most viewed Sunday Divisional Round telecast since at least 1987.
With that said, the game was still no match for the 49ers/Packers Wild Card game on FOX a week earlier (25.8, 47.7M).
(Sun. numbers from CBS Press Express)
