Featuring a low-profile Tennessee team few expected to make it this far, the AFC Championship hit multi-year lows in ratings and viewership.
Sunday’s Titans-Chiefs AFC Championship Game averaged a 23.1 rating and 41.10 million viewers on CBS, marking the lowest rated edition of the game in five years (2015 Colts-Patriots: 22.5) and the least-watched in 11 (2009 Ravens-Steelers: 40.65M).
Kansas City’s win, which peaked at a 25.5 and 46.76 million in the fast-nationals, also ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched early conference title game since 2009 (Eagles-Cardinals: 21.9, 38.39M).
Ratings declined 6% and viewership 7% from the same window last year on FOX (Rams-Saints: 24.5, 44.07M) and 5% and 7% respectively from 2018 on CBS (Jaguars-Patriots: 24.3, 44.08M).
Compared to last year’s Patriots-Chiefs AFC Championship, an overtime thriller that aired in the late window, ratings fell 16% (from 27.5) and viewership 24% (from 53.90M).
After a strong start to the postseason, with ratings and viewership up for each of the first three games, Titans-Chiefs was the fifth of the last six postseason games to post a decline in ratings and the fourth to do so in viewership. It was the first game of the postseason to hit a multi-year low.
The low numbers are not too surprising given the presence of Tennessee, a 9-7 team that received little national attention during the regular season.
Despite the soft finish, CBS ended its NFL season averaging 19.40 million viewers across the regular season and postseason (+3%) — its highest average in three years.
Sunday’s game averaged a 10.7 rating in adults 18-49, down 15% from Rams-Saints last year (12.5) and down 16% from Jaguars-Patriots in ’18 (12.7). It also drew a 7.7 in adults 18-34; previous years’ figures were unavailable.
[Nielsen estimates from CBS, ShowBuzz Daily 1.22]
