NFL Wild Card Weekend Earns Big Numbers For Networks

NFL football continues to pay off ratings dividends for the major networks and Wild Card weekend was no different. Based off fast-overnight numbers representing 56 of the top markets in the country, the games were up 11 percent year to year.

Breaking it down game by game, ABC/ESPN (Walt Disney Co DIS) started things off with the Houston Texas being shut-out by the Kansas City Chiefs. The 30-0 blowout was watched by 25.2 million people, a 24 percent gain in ratings from the previous year. The increase is being credited to ABC airing the game simultaneously with sister network ESPN, which hadn’t happened in 2015.

CBS Corporation Class B CBS then picked up the torch for a primetime matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cincinnati Bengals. The game, which ended up making headlines for all the wrong reasons, came down to the wire and saw 11 percent year-to-year increase with 31.2 million viewers tuning in.

Sunday saw 35.3 million views tune into Comcast Corporation CMCSA for the hotly contested battle between the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings in what was the third coldest game ever played in the NFL. The numbers marked a 25 percent year-to-year jump and pulled in the highest ratings for an early Sunday wild-card playoff game since the same Vikings battled the NY Giants back in 1994.

The biggest numbers came from the finale where the Green Bay Packers re-gained their swagger against the Washington Redskins. The Fox broadcasted game notched 38.8 million viewers but ironically was the only one of the four to see a year-to-year decrease. Last year’s game, which featured a controversial finish between the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys, earned 42.2 million viewers.

Coming off a season where three of the four NFL packages netted big gains for the network airing the games (ESPN was the lone exception), this weekend’s quartet drew a solid crowd. With the Thursday night game package expected to be back in play this off-season Saturday and Sunday’s large numbers should push the bidding even higher for those networks making bids including current license holder CBS.

The NFL playoffs continue this Saturday and Sunday with the divisional round of play as Denver, New England, Arizona and Carolina enter the mix.