Tom Brady clinched his ninth Super Bowl appearance in front of a massive television audience.
Sunday’s Patriots-Chiefs AFC Championship Game earned a 27.5 rating and 53.92 million viewers on CBS, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 27% in ratings and viewership from last year on FOX (Vikings-Eagles: 21.7, 42.3M) and up 13% and 12% respectively from 2017 on CBS (Steelers-Patriots: 24.4, 48.0M).
Compared to last year’s Jaguars-Patriots AFC Championship Game, which aired in the early window, ratings increased 13% (from 24.3) and viewership 22% (from 44.1M).
Excluding the Super Bowl, the Patriots’ overtime win ranks as the highest rated NFL game in three years (2016 Patriots-Broncos: 29.3) and the most-watched in five (2014 49ers-Seahawks: 55.59M). Going back further, it ranks as the ninth-highest rated since 1997, and the sixth most-watched since 1995.
It also ranks as the second-most watched AFC Championship Game on record — dating back to 1977 — behind only Jets-Steelers in 2011 (54.9M). As goes without saying, it was the largest audience to watch the Brady-era Patriots outside of their Super Bowl appearances.
Ratings and viewership peaked at a 32.2 and 63.8 million from 9:30-10 PM ET.
Outside of major news events, Sunday’s game drew a higher rating than every non-NFL television program since the 2000 Academy Awards (29.2) and a larger audience than every program since the series finale of “Seinfeld” in 1998 (76.3M).
A list of NFL conference championship ratings and viewership dating back to 2002 is available here. The list of 2018-19 NFL ratings and viewership is available here.
[Numbers from CBS Sports]
