NFL Wild Card Ratings: Sunday Games See Mixed Results

CBS earned a 17.6/35 overnight Nielsen rating for Sunday’s Broncos-Colts AFC Wild Card game from 1:00-4:15pm ET, down 12% from the 20.1/39 Fox earned for Seahawks-Packers in the comparable time slot last year. Fox earned a 21.3/36 for the Vikings-Packers NFC Wild Card game Sunday from 4:30-7:45pm, up 18% from CBS’ 18.0/30 for Broncos-Colts in the comparable time slot last season. Vikings-Packers earned a 51.4/75 in Minneapolis and a 46.1/67 in Milwaukee. The weekend’s four Wild Card games averaged a 17.9/32, up 2% from a 17.5/31 last year (THE DAILY).

NIGHTLY WIN: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER’s Cynthia Littleton reports Fox’ two-hour season premiere of “24,” which aired immediately following Vikings-Packers on the East Coast, drew 14.8 million viewers and earned a 6.1/13 overnight among adults 18-49, making it the series’ most-watched episode ever. Vikings-Packers and “24” combined to give Fox the nightly win in total viewers and adults 18-49 over ABC (HOLLYWOOD REPORTER, 1/11). Fox had a box running during its postgame show, counting down the minutes and seconds until the premiere of “24” (THE DAILY)

PATRIOT GAMES: In Boston, Bill Griffith reported the Patriots’ local TV ratings improved 18% this season, the second-largest jump in the NFL, trailing only the Falcons’ 27%. The Patriots this season ranked eighth in the league, with a 31.7/57, up from a 26.8/51 last season, which ranked them No. 17 (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/9).