TV network execs are expecting to see bigger TV ratings from today’s NFL Conference Championship games, thanks to the effect of the weekend’s big East Coast blizzard that has left many snowbound viewers in the country’s biggest media markets. “It does help ratings when the weather is bad on the East Coast,” CBS Sports Chairman Sean McManus said on Friday from Denver, where CBS will produce the Patriots-Broncos game. “It should provide, hopefully, a good diversion for people who might be snowed in or might be dealing with the storms.” Last week, Fox Sports VP/Programming & Research Mike Mulvihill took to Twitter to share his thoughts on how much bigger today’s audience will be because of the storm. “Seems believable to me that the storm will increase in-home viewership by over a million people for each champ game,” he tweeted, pointing out that last year’s Super Bowl ratings in Chicago and Detroit were up 23% and 12% , respectively, partly due to a snowstorm that affected both markets. “DC, BAL, PHL, NY should all see increases…Factor in Virginia, Central PA, Pittsburgh and that’s almost 20 percent of the country likely to be stuck inside for most or all of Sunday,” Mulvihill said over two tweets.
