The Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills delivered another classic in Sunday's AFC Championship in which the Chiefs won 32-29 to advance to their third straight Super Bowl.
Almost 58 million viewers tuned in on CBS to watch the bout between Patrick Mahomes and Josh Allen, who have faced each other four times in the playoffs.
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This new record for the most-watched AFC Championship game was nearly 58 million, which is an increase of 2 million compared to last year's AFC title game, which previously held the viewership record. It also slightly surpassed last year's NFC Championship, which aired later in the day — typically a time slot that performs better overall.
Conversely, this year's NFC Championship game in which the Philadelphia Eagles-handedly defeated the Washington Commanders 55-23, saw a decrease in viewership, drawing 44.2 million.
This was expected since last year's matchup between the San Fransisco 49ers and the Detroit Lions was aired in the primetime slot instead of the late afternoon one. It was the worst mark for an NFC Championship since 2018 when the Los Angeles Rams defeated the New Orleans Saints.
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While the Mahomes-Allen narrative clearly sold itself, the NFL saw an overall dip in its ratings across the board in 2024.
After achieving its highest regular-season viewership in recent memory in 2023, the league experienced a significant decline in audience numbers across both the regular season and playoffs this year.
It's uncertain if or how this could affect Super Bowl LIV ratings, as the event typically draws a strong national audience regardless of the in-season circumstances. Last year, the Super Bowl set a new viewership record as the most-watched ever, becoming the second most-watched broadcast in TV history.
For what it's worth, there is some lore to this Super Bowl as it will be a rematch of the Super Bowl clash from two years ago when the Chiefs won 38-35. Beyond that, the Chiefs are looking to become the first team in the game's history to win three straight Super Bowls.
"What a great game for the National Football League, for the Kansas City Chiefs," Chiefs head coach Andy Reid said. "But we're not done. We've got another game against a real good Philadelphia Eagles team."
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