The primetime Green Bay Packers-San Francisco 49ers divisional playoff game is projected to be the most-watched Saturday telecast on any U.S. network since the 1994 Winter Olympics, Front Office Sports reported Monday.
An average of 37.5 million viewers watched San Francisco rally for a 24-21 victory against Green Bay on Fox, making it that network’s most-watched Saturday telecast in its 37-year history.
The popularity of the two franchises helped to make it the most-watched Saturday NFL divisional game ever, with a 31 percent increase over last season’s meeting between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants.
The earlier Saturday game between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans drew strong ratings, as ESPN announced it was the network’s most-watched NFL telecast ever.
Baltimore’s 34-10 rout of Houston, which also aired on ABC and ESPN+, drew 31.8 million viewers, topping the mark set of 31.2 million by a Dallas Cowboys-Tampa Bay Buccaneers playoff game on Jan. 16, 2023. Third on the list is the game on Jan. 15, 2024 between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Buccaneers that was watched by 29.1 million viewers.
ESPN’s most-watched regular-season NFL game ranks fourth on its list at 28.96 million viewers, a Monday night game between the Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on Nov. 20, 2023.
ESPN has had the rights to NFL games since 1987.
