Best here again, not Rock. Sorry. But the topic of this post is ratings, and that is my thing.
So here goes:
I thought I was making a bold prediction on Twitter last week when I said the Giants-Packers game would average more viewers than Tebows-Patriots - in part because I know Saturday night is an inferior time slot to late Sunday afternoon and in part because I figured the Pats would win in a blowout.
Well, I was much righter than I expected to be. Giants-Packers averaged 45.1 million viewers, the most ever recorded for a divisional round game.
Broncs-Pats? A mere 34.2 million.
The Giants-Packers game also was the highest rated in the divisional round since 1997, averaging 25.3 percent of U.S. homes.
The four divisional round games averaged a ridonkulous 36.6 million viewers.
Giants-49ers should do stellar numbers as well this weekend, of course, but might not be quite the ratings draw that Saints-Packers would have been.
That statement in itself is an illustration of the unique ratings power of the NFL, where small TV markets are no problem.
Imagine, by contrast, a Bucks-Hornets matchup in the NBA Finals. TV executives would have to be kept away from sharp objects.
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