National Football League

NFC title game draws over 57M viewers

Published Jan. 24, 2012 12:00 a.m. ET

foxsports

The NFC Championship Game, a 20-17 overtime victory for the New York Giants over the San Francisco 49ers, drew over 57 million viewers Sunday for FOX, according to Nielsen data released Tuesday.

FOX also scored a ratings victory with the season premiere of "American Idol" on Wednesday and Thursday, landing in third and fourth place among the top primetime shows for the week of Jan. 16 to 22.

NBC's special honoring the 90th birthday celebration of actress Betty White was also among the top 10 primetime shows, with 13.8 million viewers.

Top 10 Primetime Broadcast Ranking by Total Viewers: January 16 to January 22, 2012:

1. FOX: "NFC Championship" -- 57,635,000 2. FOX: "NFC Championship Post-Game" -- 31,036,000 3. FOX "American Idol: Wednesday" -- 21,931,000 4. FOX "American Idol: Thursday" -- 18,018,000 5. CBS: "The Big Bang Theory" -- 15,835,000 6. CBS: "Person of Interest" -- 14,400,000 7. CBS: "The Mentalist" -- 14,220,000 8. NBC: "Betty With 90th Birthday Special" -- 13,856,000 9. CBS: "NCIS" -- 13,227,000 10. CBS: "Two and a Half Men" -- 13,015,000

FOX Broadcasting is owned by News Corp., the parent company of NewsCore.