via NFL press release:
STEELERS-BRONCOS ON CBS
MOST-WATCHED WILD CARD GAME EVER
GAME ALSO MOST-WATCHED PROGRAM SINCE Super Bowl XLV
SECOND MOST-WATCHED WILD CARD WEEKEND EVER
Following a record-setting regular season, NFL fans continued to tune in for the Wild Card playoffs. Sunday’s Pittsburgh Steelers-Denver Broncos game on CBS drew 42.4 million viewers ranking as the most-watched show since Super Bowl XLV and the most-watched Wild Card game ever (topping last year’s Packers-Eagles game on FOX, 39.3 million).
The Wild Card games averaged 31 million viewers to rank as the second most-watched Wild Card Weekend ever (32.3 million in 2010). The four games were also the four most-watched shows on television last week (chart below).
Saturday night’s Detroit Lions-New Orleans Saints game on NBC drew 31.8 million viewers, marking the third consecutive year with two Wild Card games averaging more than 30.0 million viewers.
Most-Watched Shows on Television, Week of Jan. 2-8, 2012
| Program | Average Viewers | ||
| 1. CBS Wild Card Playoff (Steelers-Broncos) | 42.4 million | ||
| 2. NBC Wild Card Playoff (Lions-Saints) | 31.8 million | ||
| 3. FOX Wild Card Playoff (Falcons-Giants) | 27.7 million | ||
| 4. NBC Wild Card Playoff (Bengals-Texans) | 21.9 million | ||
| 5. NCIS | 19.8 million | ||
| 6. 60 Minutes | 18.1 million | ||
| 7. 2012 Rose Bowl (Oregon-Wisconsin) | 17.6 million | ||
| 8. NCIS: Los Angeles | 17.1 million | ||
| 9. Modern Family | 14.0 million | ||
| 10. Two and a Half Men | 13.9 million | ||
