This year’s NFC and AFC championship games featured four Eastern U.S. teams, and that is reflected in a listing of the 10 markets that posted the highest local-market final ratings for each of those Jan. 23 games. The NFC game aired on Fox beginning at 3 p.m. ET; CBS carried the AFC game, starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.
| NFC championship game: Atlanta-Philadelphia |
| Rank | Media market | Avg. rating/share |
| 1 | Philadelphia | 57.4/74 |
| 2 | Atlanta | 47.1/70 |
| 3 | Washington | 38.6/55 |
| 4 | Jacksonville | 38.2/55 |
| 5 | Pittsburgh | 38.0/56 |
| 6t | Buffalo | 37.4/56 |
| 6t | Norfolk, Va. | 37.4/50 |
| 8 | New Orleans | 37.0/54 |
| 9 | Nashville | 35.4/52 |
| 10 | Tampa | 35.3/55 |
| Nationwide | 25.8/46 |
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| AFC championship game: New England-Pittsburgh |
| Rank | Media market | Avg. rating/share |
| 1 | Pittsburgh | 57.0/74 |
| 2 | Boston | 52.0/67 |
| 3 | Providence, R.I. | 42.4/51 |
| 4 | Buffalo | 35.8/46 |
| 5 | Cleveland | 34.7/46 |
| 6t | Jacksonville | 35.0/44 |
| 6t | Philadelphia | 35.0/42 |
| 8 | Washington | 33.0/42 |
| 9 | Hartford, Conn. | 32.3/42 |
| 10t | New Orleans | 31.9/43 |
| 10t | Columbus | 31.9/41 |
| Nationwide | 25.8/38 |
Research by Katherine Johnson-Reid, The Sports Business Daily
Source: Nielsen Media Research
