NFL Playoffs See Huge Spike in Ratings

By Brian Powell
Ratings for football postseasons (NFL and NCAA) had been terrible this year. The BCS games impressed no one drawing their worst ratings in years and the NFL’s wild card round were down significantly compared to last year. The matchups didn’t seem that unequal to those of 2006, but for some reason people just weren’t watching. That was until last weekend.
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The second round of the NFL playoffs racked up huge numbers and featured one of the most watched divisional playoff games since the Cowboys and Panthers met in 1997. The Giants and Cowboys played to an audience of over 26 million people on Sunday and highlighted a weekend in which every game drew more viewers than its 2006 counterpart. The numbers:
Sat. 4:30-7:30pm
2006: Colts-Ravens (CBS) 18 million+
2007: Seahawks-Packers (FOX) 19 million+ viewers (+5.1%)
Sat. 8:15-11:00pm
2006: Eagles-Saints (FOX) 18 million+
2007: Jaguars-Patriots (CBS) 21 million+ viewers (+16.8%)
Sun. 1:00-4:15pm
2006: Seahawks-Bears (FOX) 22 million+
2007: Chargers-Colts (CBS) 22 million+ viewers (+0.5%)
Sun. 4:45-8:00pm
2006: Patriots-Chargers (CBS) 23 million+
2007: Giants-Cowboys (FOX) 26 million+ viewers (+16.7%)
The big issue for the NFL this weekend won’t be the Giants-Packers ratings, seeing is that gane will almost certainly surpass the Saints-Bears matchup of 2006. No, it will be whether NFL fans will even bother to watch a game in which New England is favored by two touchdowns against a team that might be without its star running back and quarterback. The only game that could have challenged last year’s 38-34 victory by the Colts over the Patriots in the AFC Championship would have been the same matchup a year later, but the Bolts spoiled that for the league.
The NFL is obviously banking on a Green Bay-New England Super Bowl for ratings, but no matter who you’re rooting for just enjoy the games. This is the last weekend you get to experience “real” football before it gets turned over to the corporate world for Super Bowl XLII.↵