Another thrilling game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills brought in a record-setting audience for CBS. The AFC Championship game averaged 57.4 million viewers, surpassing last year’s record of 55.5 million for Chiefs-Ravens, according to Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal. This impressive viewership was bolstered by a dramatic finish that kept fans on the edge of their seats, highlighted by a controversial moment when Josh Allen was denied a first down on a quarterback sneak in the fourth quarter. Despite the outrage over officiating decisions favoring the Chiefs, the discussions haven’t negatively affected the audience totals.
Viewership for the game increased by 3% year-over-year, standing out as one of the few games this postseason to experience an uptick. According to sources, the Chiefs-Bills match marks the best AFC Championship game audience ever with 57.4 million viewers on CBS, surpassing the previous AFC record of 55.5 million last year and coming close to the 57.6 million for the Giants-49ers NFC Championship in 2012.
Source telling me Chiefs-Bills from Sunday marks the best AFC Championship game audience ever with 57.4 million viewers on CBS
🔲 Best for any NFC/AFC title game since 57.6 million for Giants-49ers in 2012
🔲 Tops prior AFC record of 55.5 million last year for Chiefs-Ravens— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) January 28, 2025
The Chiefs’ narrow victory was also the most-watched conference championship game in over a decade, eclipsing the 2012 NFC Championship viewership. Additionally, Sunday’s matchup was the most-watched in the Chiefs-Bills rivalry, with last year’s Divisional Round averaging 50.4 million viewers, while their previous AFC Championship meeting during the 2021 season averaged 42.3 million viewers. This record-setting audience should put to rest any concerns about “Chiefs fatigue” affecting NFL viewership, proving once again that the two-time defending Super Bowl champions remain a major draw for fans.
