National Football League

TV ratings down for NFL conference title games

Published Jan. 21, 2013 3:09 p.m. ET

foxsports

The NFL's conference championship game television viewership is down from last season.

Three of the four teams were the same in 2013 from a year ago. But the 2012 title games stayed closer for longer.

Last season's AFC championship between New England and Baltimore came down to the final seconds of regulation, and the NFC championship between the Giants and 49ers went to overtime.

The Ravens pulled away from the Patriots in the fourth quarter Sunday in their rematch, while San Francisco's win over Atlanta was decided in the final minutes.

The 2012 AFC championship on CBS in the early slot drew 48.7 million viewers; Sunday's game had 47.7 million viewers in the late slot. Last year's NFC title game on Fox was watched by 57.6 million people in the late slot, while this season's was seen by 42 million in the early slot.