Sunday Ratings: The NFL Ignites NBC and CBS

SUNDAY, JANUARY 16, 2022
Fast Affiliate Ratings

Total Viewers: 
NBC: 18.69 million, CBS: 13.24, ABC: 2.60, Fox: 707,000, CW: 235,000

Adults 18-49:
NBC: 4.9 rating/28 share, CBS: 2.8/16, ABC: 0.3/ 2, Fox: 0.2/ 1, CW: 0.1/ 0

It was all about football on this third Sunday in January. The Kansas City Chiefs’ 42 to 21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL Wild Card Game scored an estimated 23.31 million viewers and a 6.1 rating/37 share in adults 18-49 for the primetime portion. On CBS, a one-hour primetime football overrun lifted the 7-8 p.m. ET to a massive 34.16 million viewers and an 8.3/44 in the demo. As a reminder, results for any live sporting event are always approximate.

Needless to say, these fast affiliate results for the NFL only demonstrate the still relevance of the linear platform. Would these match-ups, after all, reach as many eyeballs on digital?

Airing out of the CBS NFL overrun was an 8 p.m. ET airing of granddaddy “60 Minutes” at an above average 13.24 million viewers and a 2.8/16 in adults 18-49. Elsewhere, the only other original programs on the broadcast nets last night was The CW’s pairing of competition series “Legends of the Hidden Temple” (Viewers: 245,000; A18-49: 0.1/ 0 at 8 p.m.) and two episodes (including the season premiere) of anthology series “Two Sentence Horror Stories” (Viewers: avg. 225,000; A18-49: avg. 0.1/ 1 from 9-10 p.m.).

ABC and Fox were in all repeats, as was CBS from 9-11 p.m.