Rarefied Air

Saints, Colts Wins Bring Best Ratings In Decades

The final numbers from Sunday’s games are in, and the NFL is seeing its product reach rating and viewership levels not seen in well over two decades. The epic Saints-Vikings NFC Championship game draws the second-most viewers ever for a conference championship, behind only the legendary 49ers-Cowboys game in ’82. The Colts’ win over the Jets also results in the largest audience for an AFC title game since the Patriots’ upset of the Dolphins in ’86. While both the Saints and Colts briefly can catch their breath before heading to Miami, merchandisers cannot, as Super Bowl apparel in both Indy and New Orleans is flying out of stores. In other Super Bowl news, the NFL will put up for sale pieces of the Sun Life Stadium field used during the game, several advocacy groups are putting more pressure on CBS not to air a potential pro-life ad featuring Tim Tebow, and Pete Townshend reveals what The Who plans to play during their halftime gig.

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