SANTA CLARA, Calif. — 49ers fans are not the only ones who hit the jackpot on Saturday night. Fox Sports is also celebrating the drama-filled Divisional Round game as it is projected to be the most-watched Saturday telecast in over 30 years.
With an astounding 37.5 million people tuning into the showdown between Green Bay and San Francisco, the Fox telecast is projected to be the most-watched Saturday telecast since the 1994 Winter Olympics, starring Nancy Kerrigan and Tonya Harding. The Packers-49ers Saturday Night Divisional Round game in 2022 held the previous record, with 36.9 million people tuning in.
The viewership peaked with 40.9 million viewers between 11:00-11:15 p.m. ET, making it the most-watched Saturday NFL Divisional game on record. Fox is also projecting that the 49ers comeback win is the most-watched Saturday night telecast in network history.
The Fox Divisional Round viewership is up 31% from last year’s New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles game that aired during the same window (28.6 million).
As a whole, the NFL has seen a 7% increase in ratings from last season. Regular-season games saw an average of 17.9 million viewers, which is tied for the second highest since averages began being tracked in 1995. The highest average on record is 18.1 million viewers from the 2015 season.
The Packers are not strangers to a large audience as Green Bay has played in three of the four highest watched games this season. The Packers-Cowboys Wild Card game drew in the second biggest crowd this season with 40.16 million viewers, and their matchup with the Detroit Lions on Thanksgiving (33.7M) ranked fourth.
The Wild Card game between the Packers and Cowboys was the most-watched Wild Card game on Fox since 2015, and saw a 20% increase in viewership from last year's Giants-Vikings game that aired in the same window (33.2M).