Though down from last year, Saturday’s Panthers/Seahawks clash set a viewership record for FOX.
The Panthers/Seahawks NFL Divisional Round game drew a 17.2 final rating and 31.0 million viewers on FOX Saturday night, down 3% in ratings and 2% in viewership from Colts/Patriots on CBS last year (17.8, 31.7M) but up 2% and less than 1%, respectively, from 49ers/Packers in 2012 (16.9, 30.9M).
The Seahawks’ win ranks as the most-watched Saturday night program ever on FOX, and the highest rated since Game 6 of the 1996 World Series (19.1). It ranks fourth in ratings and viewership out of the 14 all-time Saturday night Divisional Round windows (dates back to 2002), trailing three Patriots games on CBS.
Despite the record numbers, Panthers/Seahawks was the only game of Divisional weekend to have a decline in viewership. It also trailed the Ravens/Patriots game on NBC earlier in the day (19.6, 34.0M), marking the fifth straight season that the Saturday afternoon Divisional Round window has topped the Saturday night game.
Seattle was the top market with a 53.1 rating, the second-highest ever for a playoff game on FOX in the market. The game had a 39.3 in Charlotte.
(Sat. numbers from Fox Sports)
