NFL’s Championship round takes a hit, but still brings in huge ratings

The NFL’s ratings may have been down this weekend because of somewhat one-sided NFC and AFC championship games, but football still managed to nab some big numbers.

In Sunday’s early game on CBS, the Kansas City Chiefs punched their tickets to the Super Bowl after a 35-24 victory over the Tennessee Titans. The game, which was competitive in the first half before the Chiefs pulled away, averaged 41 million viewers. The viewership was down about 24% for CBS from the network’s AFC championship game a year ago, which took place later in the day.

The San Francisco 49ers dominated the Green Bay Packers in Sunday’s second game. The 49ers took a 27-0 lead into halftime. The Packers made a game of it, but it was too little, too late, with the 49ers winning 37-20. The game was viewed by 42.7 million people on Fox, which was down about 3% from network’s NFC title game last year.

Last year’s NFC and AFC Championship games were both exciting with each game going into overtime. This year’s games were not as competitive. Casual viewers might have tuned out, perhaps explaining why the ratings weren’t as high.

Next comes the biggest event in the NFL season (and in all of television): the Super Bowl.

This year’s Super Bowl could be a ratings powerhouse for Fox, even more so than usual, because the matchup will have two young and exciting teams competing for the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Super Bowl LIV will have the Chiefs and its elusive quarter Patrick Mahomes take on the 49ers with its electrifying defense. The game will take place in Miami on February 2. Jennifer Lopez and Shakira will headline as the halftime show performers.

The game could put an exclamation point on a dominating year for the league and its TV partners. The NFL’s TV viewership for the 2019 season was up roughly 5% overall from the previous year making it the most-watched NFL season in three years.