CBS announces Chiefs-Bills game as most-watched divisional round game ever

CBS announced on Tuesday that the game between the Chiefs and Bills on Sunday night was the most-watched divisional round game ever. A whopping 50.3 million viewers tuned in to see Kansas City beat Buffalo in a tight 27-24 showdown at Highmark Stadium. The game peaked at 56.2 million viewers, making it the most-watched program on any network since the last Super Bowl, Super Bowl LVII.

The divisional-round matchup surpassed the game with the previous record, which was the Cowboys-Packers divisional-round showdown in 2017 with 48.5 million viewers. It had an increase in viewership of 10% over the game in the same window last season, which was between the Cowboys and 49ers.

The game was also a huge win for CBS’s streaming platform, Paramount+. It was Paramount+’s most streamed live event ever.

Kansas City’s win had all the dramatic elements necessary to smash records. Superstar guests in attendance, viral crowd moments (i.e. Jason Kelce) and, of course, back-and-forth scoring.

ESPN scores big with Ravens-Texans game

The Houston Texas vs. Baltimore Ravens NFL playoff game on Saturday afternoon produced record-setting viewership numbers on ESPN. The network announced Monday that the matchup was the most-watched NFL game ever on ESPN.

There were 31.8 million viewers for the game, which is the highest number ever for ESPN, counting the playoffs and regular season.

The number for the Ravens-Texans game continued a trend of NFL viewership being up. ESPN has aired its five most-watched NFL games ever over the past 13 months.

The game attracted a large audience, despite the Baltimore Ravens eventually pulling away for a comfortable win. The Texans and Ravens were tied at halftime, but Baltimore outscored Houston 24-0 over the final two quarters to earn a 34-10 victory.

The Ravens will now host the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday on CBS.

On3’s Matt Connolly contributed to this report.