Chiefs’ win over the Bills set an AFC Championship Game record for TV viewership
Another year, another AFC Championship Game victory for the Chiefs. And another record for television ratings for that game.
Austin Karp of the Sports Business Journal reported Tuesday that the Chiefs’ 32-29 win over the Bills was seen by 57.4 million people on television. A year go, the Chiefs’ 17-10 win over the Ravens set a record with 55.5 million TV viewers. That number was topped by nearly 2 million viewers on Sunday.
Front Office Sports put the viewership number a tick higher, saying 57.7 million people watched the Chiefs’ victory.
“The contest also ranks as No. 2 in all-time viewership for the NFL in non–Super Bowl games in the last 37 years, trailing only the 2009 NFC title game between the Saints and Vikings, won by New Orleans in overtime and drawing an average of 57.9 million,” wrote Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports.
Those huge television numbers were a reversal from the previous round of playoff games played a Sunday earlier.
Jon Lewis of Sports Media Watch said those Sunday divisional contests had the lowest viewership in four years. However, the Chiefs’ win over the Texans, which was played on a Saturday, delivered the highest viewership for a football game that ESPN had ever seen (33.8 million).
The Chiefs advanced to play the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl LIX at the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans. That game kicks off at 5:30 p.m. and will air on Fox (Ch. 4 in Kansas City).
This story was originally published January 28, 2025 at 1:29 PM.
