With the “Miracle in Minneapolis” ancient history by halftime, last week’s NFC Championship ratings were the lowest in a dozen years.
Last Sunday’s Vikings-Eagles NFC Championship had a 21.7 rating and 42.3 million viewers on FOX, down 11% in ratings and 12% in viewership from Steelers-Patriots on CBS in the same window last year (24.4, 47.95M) and down 10% and 8% respectively from Cardinals-Panthers in 2016 (24.1, 45.7M).
Compared to last year’s Packers-Falcons NFC Championship, which aired in the early window, ratings fell 13% and viewership 9% from a 25.0 and 46.3 million.
The Eagles’ blowout win was the lowest rated NFL conference championship game, regardless of conference or window, since Panthers-Seahawks in 2006 (20.8). Going back further, it was the fourth-lowest rated in the past 20 years — ahead of Panthers-Seahawks in ’06, Patriots-Steelers in 2002 (21.2) and Vikings-Giants in 2001 (20.6). The 2001 and 2002 games were the last conference title games to air at 12:30 PM ET.
In addition to the ratings low, it was the least-watched conference championship since Colts-Patriots in 2015 (42.1M), and the least-watched NFC title game since 49ers-Falcons in 2013 (42.0M).
The numbers would likely have been better if not for Philadelphia’s 31-point rout. In the fast-nationals released Monday, viewership peaked before halftime at 47.7 million. With that said, the lopsided score does not fully explain the multi-year low. It was the third-straight NFC Championship with at least a 17-point halftime margin.
While the television audience sank, streaming viewership increased 43% from to 468,000 viewers — the largest non-Super Bowl audience ever on Fox Sports GO. Across TV and streaming, the game had 42.8 million viewers.
The NFC Championship scored a 13.4 rating in adults 18-49, down 13% from Steelers-Patriots last year (15.4) but still television’s highest rating in the demo since last year’s Super Bowl. No non-NFL program, including Game 7 of the 2016 World Series (12.6), has had a higher rating in the demo since the 2012 Grammy Awards (14.1).
The game also scored a 10.6 in adults 18-34 (-15%) and a 15.9 in adults 25-54 (-13%).
Ratings, Viewership, For Late Conference Championship Game (Past Decade)
[Sun. numbers from ShowBuzz Daily 1.23]
