via press release:
WILD CARD WEEKEND AVERAGES 30 MILLION VIEWERS
FOR THIRD CONSECUTIVE YEAR
SEAHAWKS-REDSKINS ON FOX THIRD MOST-WATCHED
WILD CARD GAME ALL-TIME
For the third consecutive season, the Wild Card playoffs averaged more than 30 million viewers per game. Sunday’s Seattle Seahawks-Washington Redskins game on FOX drew 38.1 million viewers ranking as the most-watched non-Olympic telecast since the Academy Awards (39.3 million on ABC, Feb. 26, 2012) and the third most-watched Wild Card game ever behind the 2011 AFC Wild Card on CBS (Steelers-Broncos, 42.4 million) and 2010 NFC Wild Card on FOX (Packers-Eagles, 39.3 million).
The four games were also the four most-watched shows on television last week (chart below).
Most-Watched Shows on Television, Week of Dec. 31, 2012-Jan. 6, 2013
| Program | Average Viewers | ||
| 1. FOX Wild Card Playoff (Seahawks-Redskins) | 38.1 million | ||
| 2. NBC Wild Card Playoff (Vikings-Packers) | 30.3 million | ||
| 3. CBS Wild Card Playoff (Colts-Ravens) | 29.6 million | ||
| 4. NBC Wild Card Playoff (Bengals-Texans) | 23.6 million | ||
| 5. The Big Bang Theory | 19.3 million | ||
| 6. 2013 Rose Bowl (Wisconsin-Stanford) | 17.0 million | ||
| 7. Person Of Interest | 16.2 million | ||
| 8. Two and a Half Men | 15.4 million | ||
| 9. New Years Rockin’ Eve | 13.3 million | ||
| 10. 2013 Fiesta Bowl (Oregon-Kansas State) | 12.3 million | ||
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company
