With the underdog Lions on the brink of their first Super Bowl appearance, the NFC Championship was an especially massive draw.
Sunday’s Lions-49ers NFC Championship averaged 56.69 million viewers on FOX, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 7% from last year’s Bengals-Chiefs AFC Championship in the same window (53.13M) and the most-watched television program outside of the Super Bowl since the 2012 Giants-49ers NFC title game (57.64M). Keep in mind out-of-home viewing was not included in Nielsen viewership estimates until 2020 (or measured at all until 2016).
Excluding the Super Bowl, only three NFL games have averaged more viewers dating back to the 1991-92 season, all of them NFC Championship games on FOX: the aforementioned 2012 matchup, Vikings-Saints in 2010 (57.93M) and Cowboys-49ers in 1995 (56.79M).
San Francisco’s win — which peaked with 58.97 million viewers from 9:15-9:30 PM ET — increased 19% from last year’s 49ers-Eagles NFC title game, a blowout that aired in the early window (47.50M).
The Lions’ near-miss averaged a 46.3 rating and 79 share in Detroit and a 30.5 and 78 in the Bay Area. Detroit’s previous playoff game (against the Buccaneers in the Divisional Round) averaged a 40.5/77 and their Wild Card matchup with the Rams had a 39.6/69.
Figures for the Chiefs-Ravens AFC Championship were not immediately available. Final nationals for both games are expected Tuesday morning.
