FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – An exciting slate of NFL Divisional Round games captured the region's attention this week, led by the Patriots' 43-22 victory over the Indianapolis Colts at Gillette Stadium on Saturday.
During the week of Jan. 6, coverage of the NFL's four Divisional Round games on CBS and FOX drew the top six spots in the Boston market's local ratings. The highest non-football broadcast of the week was NBC's coverage of the Golden Globe awards on Sunday night, which ranked seventh locally with a 16.8 average household rating.
In comparison, CBS' broadcast of the Patriots game drew a 45.3 household rating in the Boston market, drawing an average of 1.9 million total viewers and peaking at 9 p.m. with over 2 million viewers. Those numbers made it the most watched Patriots game of the season and the second-most watched Saturday playoff game in franchise history.
Sunday's AFC Divisional Round matchup between the Denver Broncos and San Diego Chargers also drew considerable interest in New England, as the game determined the Patriots' next opponent. CBS' telecast of Broncos-Chargers drew an average household rating of 31.9, making it the most-watched non-Patriots Divisional Round game since 2005 in the Boston market.
Saturday's NFC Divisional Round contest between the Seahawks and the Saints finished third in the local ratings with a 23.7 average household rating, while 49ers-Panthers came in fifth with 21.7 average household rating on Sunday. CBS' postgame and pregame coverage of the Patriots-Colts game finished fourth and sixth in the Boston market, respectively.
New England will travel to Denver this weekend to take on the Broncos in their third consecutive AFC Championship Game. Kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Sunday, with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms on the call for CBS.
