Audience Peaked at 49.1 Million Viewers in Game’s Final Minutes
Led by Peacock, Bucs-Lions Delivers Third Consecutive 3+ Million Audience for Simulstream of NBC Sports’ NFL Playoff Game
NBC Stations Deliver Best NFL Playoff Viewership Average since 2020
STAMFORD, Conn. – Jan. 22, 2024 – The Detroit Lions’ 31-23 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Sunday ranks as NBC Sports’ most watched NFL Divisional Playoff game since 1994, averaging a Total Audience Delivery of 40.4 million viewers across NBC TV, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL Digital platforms, according to Nielsen custom fast national data and Adobe Analytics.
Highlighted by quarterbacks Jared Goff of Detroit and Baker Mayfield of Tampa Bay combining to pass for more than 600 yards and five touchdowns, and tie scores in each of the first three quarters, the game’s audience peaked at 49.1 million viewers from 6-6:12 p.m. ET as the Bucs mounted a final drive to attempt to tie the score.
Led by Peacock, Bucs-Lions delivered NBC Sports’ third consecutive NFL Playoff simulstream audience of at least 3 million viewers, registering an Average Minute Audience of 3.3 million viewers across Peacock, NBC Sports Digital, and NFL Digital Properties.
The three NFL Playoff games over the last two weekends on NBC averaged approximately 31.9 million viewers on broadcast alone – the largest NFL Playoff audience average for NBC stations since 2020.
Additional ratings and viewership notes:
- The Bucs-Lions viewership (40.4 million) is NBC Sports’ most-watched NFL Divisional Playoff in 30 years (41.1 million for a Jan. 16, 1994, matchup of Hall of Fame quarterbacks, as Joe Montana led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 28-20 win over Warren Moon and the Houston Oilers).
- Sunday’s game (3:03-6:12 p.m. ET) registered a national NBC TV household rating of 18.6/52.
TOP METERED MARKETS FOR BUCCANEERS-LIONS (based on 44 markets available):
| 1. | Detroit | 40.5/77 |
| 2. | Tampa | 27.8/66 |
| 3. | Kansas City | 26.3/61 |
| 4. | Cincinnati | 25.4/58 |
| 5. | Cleveland | 24.5/59 |
| 6. | Baltimore | 24.1/59 |
| 7. | Providence | 23.9/56 |
| 8. | Minneapolis | 23.8/63 |
| 9. | Pittsburgh | 23.6/53 |
| 10. | Indianapolis | 22.4/56 |
--NBC SPORTS—