The numbers were on the lower end of the scale, but ESPN/ABC still scored a ratings bump for its annual NFL playoff game.
Saturday’s Colts-Texans AFC Wild Card Game earned a 13.5 rating and 22.8 million viewers on ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 4% in ratings and 3% in viewership from last year (Titans-Chiefs: 13.0, 22.2M) but down 6% and 9% respectively from 2017 (Raiders-Texans: 14.4, 25.1M).
The Colts’ easy win, which peaked with 26.4 million from 7-7:30 PM ET, ranks third out of the five Wild Card games that have aired on ESPN. It was just the second of those five to post an increase over the previous year.
Across all networks, it was the fifth-least watched NFL playoff game in the past decade. Three of the bottom five have aired on the ESPN family of networks, with the caveat that NFL assigns ESPN the weakest playoff window each year.
Indianapolis led all markets with a 38.2 rating. In Houston, the game had a 28.5 — down 9% from the Texans’ previous Wild Card game in 2017 (31.2) and down 13% from their 2016 appearance (32.6). Those games also aired on ESPN/ABC in the same early Saturday window.
New Orleans was the top neutral market with a 23.5, followed by Richmond, Va. (22.8) and Kansas City (21.7).
[Numbers from ESPN PR]
