The viewership numbers for the Super Wild Card Weekend games have been released, and the San Francisco 49ers-Dallas Cowboys matchup on Sunday led the pack with 41.49 million average viewers. 40.16 million watched the main telecast on CBS, with an additional 1.33 million viewers tuning into the alternate Nickelodeon broadcast featuring youth-oriented additions like slime cannons and SpongeBob-themed goalposts.
The next most watched game fell over 10 million watchers short, with the Philadelphia Eagles-Tampa Bay Buccaneers broadcast drawing 30.37 million viewers.
The history and competitiveness of both San Francisco and Dallas helped fuel Sunday's spike in viewers. Over 50 million (50.229 million) tuned in for the conclusion of the nail-biter. Meanwhile, the 41.5 million average viewer count approached the Wild Card record, a 2015 matchup between the Cowboys and Detroit Lions that drew an average of 42.32 million watchers. For perspective, last year's Wild Card games topped out with the Chicago Bears-New Orleans Saints double-cast, which drew 28.59 million viewers on CBS and an additional 2.06 million on Nickelodeon.
This year, the minimal decrease in Nickelodeon viewers was more than made up for by the national attention drawn by the 49ers-Cowboys rivalry.
The full viewership numbers are listed below. All times Eastern.
Saturday:
LV @ CIN - 27.7 million (4:30 PM, NBC)
NE @ BUF - 26.37 million (8:15 PM, CBS)
Sunday:
PHI @ TB - 30.37 million (1 PM, FOX)
SF @ DAL - 41.49 million (4:30 PM, CBS/NICK)
PIT @ KC - 28.93 million (8:15 PM, NBC)
Monday:
ARI @ LAR - 10.25 million (8:15 PM, ESPN/ESPN2)
Source - Showbuzz Daily