The 2024 NFL Playoffs included the first-ever stream-only game. It also saw another game postponed until Monday afternoon due to severe weather in Buffalo.
None of this mattered. Leading up to Super Bowl LVIII between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers, the league released its numbrs for this year’s playoffs.
According to a press release from the league on Tuesday, the 2024 NFL Playoffs were the most-watched ever. An average of 38.5 million viewers tuned in to the 12 games in the wild card, divisional and conference championship rounds.
NFL TV ratings were up across the board in each round with a 9% increase from last season’s wild card round. The divisional round saw an 8% increase while Championship Sunday increased by 11% from a year ago.
Related: Where does 49ers win over Lions rank all-time in NFC Championship Game television audience?
San Francisco’s comeback win over the Detroit Lions in the NFC Championship Game Sunday evening was a ratings bonanza for Fox. According to Fox, viewership peaked with a projected 58,967,000 people tuning in between 9:15-9:30 PM ET.
That figure was up 19% from the 49ers’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in last season’s conference title game. It represented the most-watched NFC Championship Game in a dozen years and the fourth most-watched non-Super Bowl broadcast in Fox history.
Fears of Taylor Swift, politics and other aspects surrounding the NFL leading to its demise have obviously been greatly exaggerated.
“Our record-breaking viewership is driven by the incredible play on the field that only the NFL postseason can deliver and presented by the best media partners in the business,” said Hans Schroeder, executive vice president of media distribution with the NFL. “All eyes now turn to Las Vegas for what will be the culmination of an unbelievable season with Super Bowl LVIII.”
With the major storylines heading into next month’s Super Bowl, we would not be surprised if that game boasts the highest television ratings in history. Last year’s Super Bowl totaled 115.1 million viewers, which represented a record.
All said, 13 of the top-16 most-watched TV programs have been Super Bowls. The only exceptions were the Apollo 11 moon landing, Richard Nixon’s resignation speech and the MASH series finale.