The Patriots and Steelers made for a great matchup on paper, a snoozer on the field, and a mixed bag in the ratings.
Steelers/Patriots scored a 27.6 overnight rating in Sunday’s AFC Championship on CBS, up 3% from last year’s Cardinals/Panthers NFC Championship on FOX (26.8), up 14% from Colts/Patriots on CBS in 2015 (24.2) and the highest for the late conference championship window since 49ers/Seahawks on FOX three years ago (31.0).
Compared to last year’s Patriots/Broncos AFC Championship, which aired in the afternoon window, overnights fell 13% from a 31.8. The 27.6 is the second-lowest for the AFC Championship since 2009, ahead of only 2015.
The Patriots’ easy win edged Packers/Falcons on FOX earlier in the day (27.4), marking the first time since 2014 that the late conference championship window has been the highest rated of the day. It did not earn the top overnight of the postseason, trailing the previous week’s Packers/Cowboys Divisional Round game (28.2).
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily 1/23)
