The NFL conference championship games showed ratings increases in both time slots Sunday.
Denver’s 20-18 AFC Championship Game victory over New England had a huge ratings number for the 17th duel between star quarterbacks Peyton Manning of the Broncos and Tom Brady of the Patriots.
According to Nielsen estimates as reported by Variety on Monday, the early game on CBS drew a 31.8 overnight rating, a 9 percent increase from last year’s 29.1 overnight rating for the Seattle Seahawks-Green Bay Packers. Sunday’s rating is the highest for an AFC title game since the famous Broncos-Cleveland Browns game 29 years ago in which John Elway led “The Drive” on Jan. 11, 1987.
The Broncos-Patriots game peaked with a 36.6 rating from 6-6:30 p.m. ET.
In Sunday’s later game, quarterback Cam Newton led the Carolina Panthers into the Super Bowl to face the Broncos with a 49-15 rout of the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC championship.
Because of the blowout, the game on FOX wasn’t as strong, drawing a 26.8 overnight rating — still up 19 percent from last year’s 24.2 overnight rating for the Patriots-Indianapolis Colts game in another blowout.