Fans aren’t getting bored of watching the Kansas City Chiefs play in the AFC Championship Game.
Kansas City competed in its sixth straight conference title clash when defeating the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday. The 17-10 victory set a ratings milestone for CBS.
On Tuesday morning, CBS declared it the most-watched AFC Championship Game ever. An average of 55.473 viewers watched the Chiefs advance to their second straight Super Bowl.
Outside of Super Bowls, it was the most-watched CBS broadcast since the 1994 Winter Olympics.
The NFL ON CBS delivers the most-watched AFC Championship Game ever with more than 55 million viewers.
Sunday’s game peaked with more than 64 million viewers.
CBS Sports leads all networks with its best postseason viewership since the NFL returned to CBS in 1998, including… pic.twitter.com/3AgeMDxy0b
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) January 30, 2024
CBS noted a 17 ratings increase over the NFC Championship Game in the same 3 p.m. ET time slot last year. Yet it wasn’t as stark a jump from the 53.126 million average viewers that watched the Chiefs defeat the Cincinnati Bengals for the AFC throne in 2023.
A vast audience saw Patrick Mahomes cement his fourth AFC title in six years by completing 30 of 39 passes for 241 yards and a touchdown pass to Travis Kelce. Kansas City got blanked in the second half, but the defense forced three Baltimore turnovers.
Despite making history, Sunday’s AFC encounter wasn’t the day’s most-watched football game.
The NFC Championship Game narrowly topped it with 56.7 million average viewers. It was FOX’s highest-rated NFC title game in 12 years.
However, CBS also touted its best postseason (and regular season) viewership since 1998. The network’s playoff games garnered 45.607 million average viewers.
With both championship games attracting so many spectators, CBS may anticipate another ratings benchmark when airing the Super Bowl on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 6:30 p.m. ET.