Chiefs over Bengals for AFC championship was must-see TV, drawing year-best audience
Say this for the Chiefs: They know how to draw an audience.
Their dramatic 23-20 victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game attracted an average of 53.1 million viewers on CBS, the largest viewership for a conference title game in four years, and the most of any television program since last year’s Super Bowl.
Sunday’s audience peaked at 59.37 million viewers.
Kansas City was the top local market with a 54.3 rating. That’s the percentage of all households in the market with televisions that had the game on.
The viewership was the largest for a conference championship game since 53.9 million watched the Chiefs fall to the New England Patriots in the 2018 AFC Championship Game.
Several factors helped boost Sunday’s audience: The game was played in prime-time and was compelling, with neither team holding more than a one-score lead in the second half. Also, quarterbacks Patrick Mahomes and Joe Burrow are among the sport’s biggest stars.
Earlier Sunday, the NFC Championship Game on FOX averaged 47.5 million viewers, who watched the Philadelphia Eagles defeat the San Francisco 49ers 31-7.
The Chiefs will meet the Eagles in Super Bowl LVII on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Arizona. FOX will broadcast the game.
AFC Championship Game average viewership (all on CBS):
2022: 53.1 million Chiefs 23, Bengals 20
2021: 47.8 million Bengals 27, Chiefs 24 (OT)
2020: 42.3 million Chiefs 38, Bills 24
2019: 41.1 million Chiefs 35, Titans 24
2018: 53.9 million Patriots 37, Chiefs 31 (OT)
This story was originally published January 31, 2023 at 3:44 PM.