The Broncos-Steelers playoff game Sunday was by far the most watched game of the NFL season in the Denver area.
According to Nielsen ratings announced Monday, the Broncos’ 29-23 overtime victory that was televised by CBS drew a 78 audience share. That beat the Broncos’ Dec. 18 game against New England (73) and the regular-season finale Jan. 1 against Kansas City (72). Sunday’s game also drew a 49 rating. A share is the percentage of televisions turned on in a media market watching a particular program. A rating is the percentage of TVs overall in a media market tuned to the game.
Sunday’s game drew the best preliminary television rating for a first-round NFL playoff game in 24 years, CBS said. The game was seen in an average of 25.9 percent of homes in the top 56 U.S. television markets, the best first-round rating since a playoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and Houston Oilers in 1988, which also went to overtime and drew a 26.7 rating.
Ryan Casey: 303-954-1983 or rcasey@denverpost.com
