Decline in NFL's wild-card viewership due to lopsided games
The NFL wild-card round during the past week experienced a decrease in TV viewership compared to last year, according to data released on Wednesday.
The overall decline from the same round of games last year was 9.3 percent.
The Washington Commanders' 23-20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on "Sunday Night Football" - the only wild-card game decided by one score - had an average of 19 percent fewer viewers than last season's SNF wild-card broadcast featuring the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams.
The game in Tampa had 29 million viewers, the lowest average viewership for a Sunday night wild-card game in four years.
Even the most-watched game of the weekend had a decrease in viewership.
Fox had an average of 35.6 million viewers for the Philadelphia Eagles' 22-10 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday afternoon, but this was down 11 percent compared to last January's game between the Packers and the Dallas Cowboys in the same time slot.
The final NFC game between the Minnesota Vikings and the Rams, which was moved from Inglewood, Calif., to Glendale, Ariz., due to wildfires, had an average of 13 percent fewer viewers than last season's "Monday Night Football" wild-card broadcast.
More than 30 million viewers were watching during the first half, but as the Rams took a commanding lead over the Vikings, the final average viewership dropped to 25.4 million.
The Saturday night AFC showdown between the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens was a success for Amazon, with an average of 22.1 million viewers for its first-ever playoff broadcast. Baltimore won 28-14.
This was Amazon's highest viewership since it started streaming NFL games three years ago, but it fell short of the 23 million viewers who streamed last season's playoff game between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs on Peacock.
CBS had an average of 31.1 million viewers for the Buffalo Bills' 31-7 victory over the Denver Broncos on Sunday afternoon. This was similar to last year's wild-card game in Orchard Park, N.Y., which was moved from Sunday to Monday due to a snowstorm.
This year's first wild-card game was the only one with an increase in viewership compared to last year's game in the same time slot.
An average of 31.1 million viewers watched the Houston Texans defeat the Los Angeles Chargers 32-12 on CBS and Nickelodeon on Saturday afternoon, a 7 percent increase from last year's early Saturday broadcast.
Viewership may increase during this weekend's divisional games.
The round begins with the Kansas City Chiefs hosting the Houston Texans on Saturday afternoon on ESPN. The Chiefs have been the most-watched team this season as they aim for an unprecedented third straight Super Bowl title.
Fox will air the Saturday night game, with top-seeded Detroit hosting a Washington team that just won its first playoff game in 19 years.
The Sunday slate starts with the Rams facing the Philadelphia Eagles on NBC in the early afternoon. CBS then has perhaps the most anticipated game of the weekend, with the Baltimore Ravens led by Lamar Jackson taking on fellow MVP candidate Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills.
