National Football League

Conference title games earn best ratings since '97

Published Jan. 24, 2011 9:38 p.m. ET

foxsports

The AFC championship game earned its highest television rating in 14 years, while the NFC game also drew the best rating for the early conference championship game in the same span.

The Pittsburgh Steelers' 24-19 win over the New York Jets in the AFC title game Sunday on CBS had a 28.3 rating and 43 share, the highest since the Jaguars-Patriots matchup in January 1997.

The Green Bay Packers' 21-14 victory over the Chicago Bears on Fox earned a 28.1/50, the best since Panthers-Packers, also in '97.

The AFC game was watched by an average of 54.85 million viewers, breaking the record set by San Diego-Cincinnati in 1982 when the population was smaller.

Ratings represent the percentage of all homes with televisions tuned into a program. Shares represent the percentage of all homes with TVs in use at the time.