The NFL Divisional Playoff games put up really big numbers in viewers in Central Florida during the weekend.
The Denver Broncos’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers on the late Sunday game on CBS topped the viewers in Orlando with 474,204 according to Nielsen. That made it the most watched NFL game in Orlando this season, surpassing last week’s Green Bay Packers versus Washington Redskins NFC Wild Card game.
There were two things we learned from the Steelers-Broncos numbers.
First, more people indeed watch football in the playoffs than the regular season by a significant number. And second, Peyton Manning continues to be a TV draw in Orlando. The Broncos’ game against the Steelers on Dec. 20 on CBS at the same time slot as it was this past Sunday had 258,470 viewers, an increase of 83.5 percent. That game did not have Peyton Manning who was out with an injury.
One thing we learned from the last two weekends is that people like watching the NFL on Sunday over Saturday.
The Carolina Panthers’ win over the Seattle Seahawks earlier on Sunday ranked second among the weekend games and was the second most-watched NFL game in Orlando this season with 420,476 viewers on FOX.
The New England Patriots’ win over the Kansas City Chiefs which was the early Saturday game (4:30 p.m. start) on CBS garnered 337,362 viewers.
Rounding out the Divisional games, The Arizona Cardinals’ dramatic overtime win over the Green Bay Packers on Saturday night pulled in 287,330 viewers on NBC.
This Sunday is Championship Sunday with the AFC Championship game between the New England Patriots and Denver Broncos starting at 3 p.m. on CBS followed by the NFC Championship game between the Arizona Cardinals and Carolina Panthers at 6:40 p.m. on FOX.
Look for the AFC championship game, which features the 17th and possibly final meeting between future Hall of Fame quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning, to be the most watched television program in Central Florida this week.
[…] by the AFC Championship game win over the Patriots being number two. The Broncos’ win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Divisional playoff game is now the third most-watched game in Orlando this […]