NFL divisional round averages record 38.2 million viewers

| American Football | 01/27/2022

The four NFL divisional round playoff games had the highest average viewers on record with 38.2 million tuning in on television and digital platforms.

Every game over the weekend came down to the final play. Besides it being the highest average for the divisional round since Nielsen started keeping track of viewer averages in 1988, it was a 20% increase over last year and up 12% compared to two years ago.

Kansas City’s 42-36 overtime victory over Buffalo averaged 42.74 million on CBS, making it the most-watched divisional playoff game on any network since the 2017 Green Bay-Dallas matchup averaged 48.52 million on Fox. Sunday night’s audience peaked at 51.70 million.

Sunday’s first game — the Los Angeles Rams’ 30-27 win over Tampa Bay — averaged 40 million, making it NBC’s most-watched, non-Super Bowl game since the start of its “Sunday Night Football” package in 2006.

San Francisco’s 13-10 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night averaged 36.92 million on Fox while Cincinnati’s 19-16 win over Tennessee drew 30.75 million.

Digitally, Fox and Paramount+ recorded their most non-Super Bowl streamed games of all time over the weekend.

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