AFC Championship Viewership Drops 15%
- The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks won their respective conference championships this weekend, securing their spots in Super Bowl LX.
- The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams to claim the NFC Championship title, drawing 46 million viewers on Fox.
- However, nielsen's recent adjustments to its viewership measurement methods are impacting reported numbers.
Patriots and Seahawks Head to Super Bowl LX Amidst Lower Ratings
The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks won their respective conference championships this weekend, securing their spots in Super Bowl LX. Though, television viewership for the championship games was lower than projections, signaling perhaps diminished fan enthusiasm compared to last year’s lead-up to the Chiefs-Eagles Super Bowl.
The Seattle Seahawks defeated the Los Angeles Rams to claim the NFC Championship title, drawing 46 million viewers on Fox. This represents a 4% increase over the 2025 NFC Championship game between the Commanders and Eagles, which had 44.2 million viewers (according to Deadline).
However, nielsen’s recent adjustments to its viewership measurement methods are impacting reported numbers. In September 2025,the NFL publicly questioned Nielsen’s undercounting of viewers,suggesting actual viewership may be higher than initially reported (Deadline).