NFL TV ratings are better than a bull market on the stock exchange, the trend lines are continually going up.
As we move into the Divisional Round, there’s no reason to believe we’re headed for a crash.
The most-watched divisional round game ever was the Dallas Cowboys’ 2017 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers, which drew 48.5 million viewers. With the Packers playing the San Francisco 49ers on Saturday, that record is in jeopardy.
Last year, the most-watched Divisional Round game, according to Nielsen and Sports Media Watch, was the Dallas Cowboys vs. the San Francisco, which had 45.65 million viewers on Fox. The least-watched game was the Philadelphia Eagles rout of the New York Giants with 28.64 million viewers.
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NFL TV ratings of last year’s Divisional Round games
- San Francisco 49ers 19, Dallas Cowboys 12, Fox, 45.65 million viewers, Jan. 22, 2023
- Cincinnati Bengals 27, Buffalo Bills 10, CBS, 39.32 million viewers, Jan. 22, 2023
- Kansas City Chiefs 20, Jacksonville Jaguars 20, NBC, 32.31 million viewers, Jan. 21, 2023
- Philadelphia Eagles 38, New York Giants 7, Fox, 28.64 million viewers, Jan. 21, 2023
We expect every game this weekend to draw more than the 28.64 million. We’re projected every game to be more than 30 million with four of the Top 15 TV markets having teams playing, especially if they’re all competitive.
NFL Playoffs Divisional Round Schedule
- Houston Texans at Baltimore Ravens, Saturday 4:30 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+
- Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers, Saturday 8:15 p.m. ET, Fox
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Detroit Lions, Sunday 3 p.m. ET, NBC
- Kansas City Chiefs at Buffalo Bills, Sunday 6:30 p.m., CBS
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NFL TV ratings, Wild Card Weekend’s big numbers
The NFL TV ratings for Wild Card weekend were impressive across the board, even the one game that wasn’t on “national” TV.
Coming in as the big winner was the Packers’ win against the Cowboys, which drew 40 million viewers. That was the most since 2015.
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The Chiefs win against the Dolphins drew 23 million to be the lowest-rated of the weekend, but that game was streamed on Peacock and it broke records for streaming content. So the network and the NFL were happy with those numbers.
NFL TV ratings for Wild Card Weekend
- Green Bay 48, Dallas 32, Fox, 40 million viewers
- Detroit 24, L.A. Rams 23, NBC, 35.8 million viewers
- Buffalo 31, Pittsburgh 17, CBS, 31.052 million viewers
- Houston 45, Cleveland 14, NBC, 29.0 million viewers
- Tampa Bay 32, Philadelphia 9, ABC/ESPN/ESPN+, 28.6 million viewers
- Kansas City 26, Miami 7, Peacock (streaming), 23.0 million viewers
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