NFL Conference Championship Games Bring In Huge Ratings

The NFL conference championship game match ups between the New York Giants vs. San Francisco 49ers as well as the Baltimore Ravens vs. New England Patriots , drew in major television ratings, according to the USA Today.

The Giants vs. 49ers NFC title game aired on Fox drew in a rating of 33.4,  which is reportedly 7% higher than last year’s CBS NY Jets vs. Pittsburgh game in the same late Sunday time slot.  The Ravens vs. Patriots AFC title game aired on CBS and drew a slightly smaller rating at 29.1, which was down 3% from the Packers-Bears game which aired on Fox in the same time slot last year.  However, the Ravens vs. Patriots game was still the highest rated AFC title game in the early time slot in 18 years, USA Today reports.

Ultimately, large market teams, with explosive offenses and stingy defenses, playing in inclement weather, were the main ingredients to the record-setting ratings yesterday.

The CBS afternoon game resulted in a Patriots 23-20 victory. The Ravens had a chance to tie the game in the final minute but missed a 321-yard field goal wide left, allowing the Patriots to run out the clock and earn their fifth Super Bowl berth since 2001.