NBC Sports presented a divisional matchup that came down to the final minutes between the Los Angeles Rams and Philadelphia Eagles from Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday afternoon. The contest has delivered the fourth-largest NFL Divisional Playoff audience on record for NBC Sports, averaging 37.8 million viewers on NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital platforms and NFL Digital platforms, according to live plus same day custom fast national data from Nielsen Media Research and digital metrics from Adobe Analytics. Peak viewership took place from 6 to 6:11 p.m. EST with an average of 47.5 million viewers.
The company aired a divisional matchup featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions in the early Sunday window last season, which averaged 37.18 million viewers and an 18.6 household rating. In terms of overall viewership, the Rams-Eagles game is up 1.6% year-over-year and represents a gain after the media conglomerate registered a year-over-year loss last season. Commentary of the game was provided by play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico, analyst Cris Collinsworth and reporters Melissa Stark and Kaylee Hartung.
The only games that averaged a larger audience in the divisional round for NBC Sports was a matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Oilers in January 1994 featuring star quarterback Joe Montana (41.1 million viewers). Furthermore, the other two games with higher average viewership both included the Buccaneers and took place in the last three seasons (1/21/24, 40.4 million; 1/23/22, 39.9 million).
The game was the final NFL broadcast of the 2024 season for NBC Sports, which is now entering the third year of a 10-year media rights deal with the league reportedly worth $2 billion per season. At the moment, the game is also the most-viewed divisional round matchup registered, although data for CBS Sports’ presentation of the Baltimore Ravens and Buffalo Bills has yet to be released. NBC Sports will broadcast Super Bowl LX next February from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif. to close out the 2025 season.
NBC Sports recently attained its best viewership for the Sunday Night Football franchise since 2015, averaging 21.6 million viewers throughout the regular season. The company also broadcast a Wild Card round game between the Commanders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers that averaged 29 million viewers. Official viewership data for the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs will be available on Wednesday.
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