It was all about Fox on Sunday evening with the NFC Championship Game which saw the top-seeded Carolina Panthers overwhelm the visiting Arizona Cardinals by a score of 49-15 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.
Despite the lopsided score, the NFC Championship Game posted a +7 percent household ratings increase over the 22.5/35 for the 2015 AFC Championship Game that aired in the same window last year on CBS (Indianapolis-New England). It also produced increases across key demographics over the 2015 AFC Championship, showing gains of +21 percent in the males 18-34 (16.0 vs. 13.2) category and +15 percent among males 18-49 (19.2 vs. 16.7).
The audience peaked at 49.9 million viewers from 8:00 to 8:30 PM ET.
Charlotte led all markets with an impressive 54.2/71 and Phoenix ranked third with a 43.9/65, both marking the highest postseason ratings ever for the Fox station in each market. The Top 10 markets are as follows: Charlotte – 54.2/71; Greensboro – 50.9/63; Phoenix – 43.9/65; Greenville – 43.2/53; Raleigh-Durham – 40.0/55; Norfolk – 37.8/50; New Orleans – 35.3/47; Richmond – 34.9/43; Buffalo – 32.8/44; Las Vegas – 31.2/46.
On the digital front, the game was live-streamed by more than 175,000 unique visitors on Fox Sports GO, making it the most-watched authenticated NFL game and the third most-watched authenticated event in Fox Sports GO’s history.
Following the NFC title game was the return of supernatural crime drama “The X-Files” which brought in solid results for a season or series premiere of a drama with the most total viewers since “NCIS” (9/22/15, 18.19 million) and the most adults 18-49 since “The Walking Dead” (10/11/15, 7.43 adults 18-49 rating). The series which stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson back in their iconic roles as federal agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully continues for a limited run for the next five Mondays which began on Jan. 24. Its original series ran from 1993 to 2002.
In the late afternoon, CBS’s coverage of the AFC Championship Game (New England-Denver) is the second most-watched AFC Championship game on any network in 39 years with 53.3 million total viewers, behind only the New York Jets-Pittsburgh AFC Championship game on January 23, 2011 (54.9 million, late window (6:42-9:54; CBS).
New England-Denver also is the most watched early-window AFC or NFC Conference Championship game on any network in 39 years, as far back as CBS records go (since 1978).
In addition, the game was the most-watched and highest-rated television program since last year’s Super Bowl coverage.
The New England-Denver game earned a fast-national Live + Same-Day average household rating/share of 29.3/51, which is the highest rating for the AFC Championship game on any network in 30 years (1/12/86; 32.4/56; New England-Miami; NBC).
Sunday’s AFC Championship topped the NFC Championship (Arizona-Carolina) in viewers by 17 percent (53.3 million vs. 45.7 million), and ratings by 22 percent (29.3/51, vs 24.1/37).
New England-Denver peaked with an average of 62.9 million viewers from 6:00-6:30 PM ET.
CBS Sports’ streaming coverage of the game also set viewership records with triple-digit growth in viewers and minutes streamed compared to last year’s AFC Championship game. Across laptops, desktops, connected TV devices, tablets, and mobile phones, more than 1.2 million unique viewers consumed more than 89 million total minutes of coverage, with viewers watching for more than 69 minutes each on average.
For mobile users, you may scroll this table horizontally.
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Sunday, January 24, 2016 | |||||
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PROGRAM | HH/Share | Viewers (000) |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7-11 | Network Average | 1.4/2 | 2359 | 0.3/1 | 0.5/1 | 0.7/2 |
| 7:00 | America’s Funniest Home Videos (r) | 2.6/4 | 4456 | 0.6/2 | 0.8/2 | 1.1/2 |
| 8:00 | Galavant | 1.3/2 | 2100 | 0.3/1 | 0.5/1 | 0.7/1 |
| 9:01 | Marvel’s Agent Carter (r) | 0.9/2 | 1434 | 0.2/1 | 0.4/1 | 0.5/1 |
 |
PROGRAM | HH/Share | Viewers (000) |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
| 7-11 | Network Average | 4.8/8 | 7436 | 0.8/3 | 1.2/3 | 1.7/4 |
| 6:40 | AFC Championship Post Game (s) | 12.5/20 | 21927 | 5.4/19 | 6.9/20 | 8.3/20 |
| 7:05 | 60 Minutes Presents (r) | 6.2/10 | 9694 | 1.2/4 | 1.8/5 | 2.4/6 |
| 8:05 | 60 Minutes Special (r) | 5.4/8 | 8319 | 0.7/2 | 1.1/3 | 1.8/4 |
| 9:05 | Madam Secretary (r) | 3.3/5 | 5113 | 0.4/1 | 0.7/2 | 1.0/2 |
| 10:05 | NCIS (r) (thru 11:05) | 4.0/7 | 6029 | 0.4/2 | 0.8/3 | 1.2/3 |
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PROGRAM | HH/Share | Viewers (000) |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
| 7-11 | Network Average | 1.9/3 | 2954 | 0.6/2 | 0.8/2 | 1.0/2 |
| 7:00 | Dateline NBC | 2.5/4 | 3635 | 0.4/1 | 0.6/2 | 0.9/2 |
| 8:00 | Movie: Bridesmaids (2011) | 1.7/3 | 2727 | 0.7/2 | 0.9/2 | 1.1/2 |
 |
PROGRAM | HH/Share | Viewers (000) |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
| 7-11 | Network Average | 21.2/33 | 39822 | 11.5/38 | 13.9/38 | 15.9/37 |
| 6:47 | NFC Championship Game: Arizona @ Carolina (s) | 24.1/37 | 45739 | 13.1/43 | 15.7/42 | 18.0/41 |
| 9:58 | NFC Championship Post Gun (s) | 18.4/29 | 33901 | 10.2/33 | 12.3/33 | 13.9/32 |
| 10:05 | NFC Championship-The OT (s) | 13.6/22 | 24323 | 7.4/25 | 9.1/25 | 10.3/25 |
| 10:24 | The X-Files (p) (thru 11:16) | 9.3/16 | 16193 | 4.6/18 | 6.1/19 | 7.2/19 |
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PROGRAM | HH/Share | Viewers (000) |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
| 7-11 | Network Average | 1.4/2 | 2689 | 1.0/3 | ||
| 7:00 | Aqui y Ahora | 1.3/2 | 2194 | 0.8/2 | ||
| 8:00 | Gran Estreno (s) | 1.5/2 | 2964 | 1.2/3 | ||
| 10:30 | Sal y Pimienta | 1.2/2 | 2304 | 0.9/3 | ||
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PROGRAM | HH/Share | Viewers (000) |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
| 5:50 | Futbol Mexicano: Chivas vs. Tigres (thru 8:00) | 0.5/1 | 1066 | 0.5/1 | ||
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Half-Hour Breakdowns | |||||
|
PROGRAM | HH/Share | Viewers (000) |
Adults 18-34 |
Adults 18-49 |
Adults 25-54 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7-11 | Network Average | 21.2/33 | 39822 | 11.5/38 | 13.9/38 | 15.9/37 |
| 7:00 | NFC Championship Game (s) | 24.7/39 | 47506 | 13.0/44 | 15.6/44 | 18.0/43 |
| 7:30 | NFC Championship Game (s) | 25.9/40 | 49657 | 13.9/46 | 16.7/45 | 19.2/45 |
| 8:00 | NFC Championship Game (s) | 26.2/40 | 49934 | 14.3/46 | 17.0/45 | 19.5/44 |
| 8:30 | NFC Championship Game (s) | 24.4/37 | 46629 | 13.5/43 | 16.2/42 | 18.5/41 |
| 9:00 | NFC Championship Game (s) | 23.5/35 | 43928 | 13.0/41 | 15.6/40 | 17.8/39 |
| 9:30 | NFC Championship Game (s) | 21.9/33 | 40735 | 12.0/38 | 14.4/37 | 16.4/36 |
| 9:58 | NFC Championship Post Gun (s) | 20.8/32 | 38516 | 11.4/37 | 13.7/36 | 15.4/35 |
| 10:00 | NFC Championship Post Gun (s) | 17.4/27 | 32056 | 9.7/32 | 11.8/32 | 13.3/31 |
| 10:05 | NFC Championship-The OT (s) | 13.6/22 | 24323 | 7.4/25 | 9.1/25 | 10.3/25 |
| 10:24 | The X-Files (p) | 10.8/18 | 18894 | 5.5/20 | 7.2/21 | 8.3/21 |
| 10:30 | The X-Files (p) (thru 11:00) | 9.6/17 | 16657 | 4.7/18 | 6.3/19 | 7.5/19 |
Sub-Demo Breakdowns – Sunday 1/24/16
“Galavant” (ABC)
Women 18-34: 0.4/1
Men 18-34: 0.3/1
Women 18-49: 0.6/2
Men 18-49: 0.4/1
“Dateline NBC” (NBC)
Women 18-34: 0.4/1
Men 18-34: 0.3/1
Women 18-49: 0.8/2
Men 18-49: 0.4/1
“NFC Championship Game: Arizona Cardinals @ Carolina Panthers” (Fox)
Women 18-34: 10.2/34
Men 18-34: 16.0/51
Women 18-49: 12.2/33
Men 18-49: 19.2/50
“The X-Files” (Fox)
Women 18-34: 3.9/15
Men 18-34: 5.3/21
Women 18-49: 5.1/15
Men 18-49: 7.2/23
“Shameless” (Showtime)
Women 18-34: 0.71
Men 18-34: 0.52
Women 18-49: 0.78
Men 18-49: 0.72
“Billions” (Showtime)
Women 18-34: 0.19
Men 18-34: 0.16
Women 18-49: 0.26
Men 18-49: 0.27
Cable Rankings – Sunday 1/24/16
What follows are the top 20 most-watched shows in prime time on cable for Sunday, January 24:
- “Alaska: The Last Frontier” (Discovery, 9 p.m.): 3.781 million (0.90 adults 18-49 rating)
- “Real Housewives of Atlanta” (Bravo, 8 p.m.): 2.848 (1.25)
- “Alaska: The Last Frontier” (Discovery, 10 p.m.): 2.648 (0.59)
- “K.C. Undercover” (Disney Channel, 8 p.m.): 2.023 (0.32)
- “Worst Cooks” (Food Network, 9 p.m.): 1.996 (0.61)
- “Keeping Up with the Kardashians” (E!, 9 p.m.): 1.991 (0.96)
- “Alaska: The Last Frontier” (Discovery, 8 p.m.): 1.954 (0.36)
- “Liv and Maddie” (Disney Channel, 8:30 p.m.): 1.871 (0.30)
- “Family Guy” (Adult Swim, 10:30 p.m.): 1.848 (0.85)
- “Shameless” (Showtime, 9:05 p.m.): 1.697 (0.75)
- “Island Life” (HGTV, 10 p.m.): 1.671 (0.43)
- “Real Housewives of the Potomac” (Bravo, 9 p.m.): 1.667 (0.72)
- “Evil Lives Here” (ID, 10 p.m.): 1.631 (0.45)
- “Island Life” (HGTV, 10:30 p.m.): 1.627 (0.38)
- “American Dad” (Adult Swim, 10 p.m.): 1.580 (0.67)
- “BUNK’D” (Disney Channel, 9:03 p.m.): 1.574 (0.24)
- “Caribbean Life” (HGTV, 9:30 p.m.): 1.485 (0.38)
- “Guy’s Grocery Games” (Food Network, 8 p.m.): 1.473 (0.48)
- “Unusual Suspects” (ID, 9 p.m.): 1.467 (0.35)
- “Ax Men” (History, 9 p.m.): 1.446 (0.46)
- “Hollywood Medium” (E!, 10 p.m.): 1.400 (0.58)
- “Long Island Medium” (TLC, 9 p.m.): 1.245 (0.30)
- “NFL Primetime” (ESPN, 10:00-11:00 p.m., 0.74 household rating): 1.122 (0.47)
- “Married by Mom and Dad” (TLC, 10 p.m.): 1.007 (0.32)
- “Billions” (Showtime, 10 p.m.): 0.950 (0.27)
- “Work Out New York” (Bravo, 10 p.m.): 0.721 (0.33)
Source: Live+Same Day data, Nielsen Media Research
