As one could expect, the first NFL playoff game on ESPN was one of the top cable programs ever.
The Cardinals/Panthers NFC Wild Card game drew a 12.5 rating and 21.7 million viewers on ESPN Saturday afternoon, according to Nielsen fast-nationals — down 22% in ratings and 21% in viewership from Chiefs/Colts on NBC last year (16.0, 27.6M) and down 13% and 8%, respectively, from Bengals/Texans on NBC in 2012 (14.4, 23.6M).
The Panthers’ win ranks as the eighth-most watched program ever on U.S. cable television and the medium’s second-most watched NFL game. Only Packers/Vikings on Monday Night Football in 2009 earned a larger audience (21.8M).
Including the College Football Playoff semifinals on January 1, ESPN aired three of the top ten cable programs in just over 48 hours. The network owns the 19 largest cable audiences.
Though a near-record for cable, Cardinals/Panthers was below par for the NFL playoffs. Carolina’s win earned the smallest audience for any NFL playoff game since the Falcons/Cardinals Wild Card game in 2009 (21.0M) and the lowest rating since at least 1998.
ESPN’s telecast drew a 21.6 rating in Phoenix and a 20.4 in Charlotte. The game was simulcast on local affiliates in both markets, earning a 7.3 on Phoenix CW affiliate KASW and a 16.3 on Charlotte FOX affiliate WJZY.
(Sat. numbers from ESPN Media Zone)
