Update: the game’s viewership averaged 45.7 million viewers.
The Carolina Panthers blowout victory over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFC Conference Championship drew a 26.8/40 overnight rating/share. That’s down 8 % versus last year’s Seahawks-Packers game that aired in the early 3:00 P.M. ET timeslot and drew a 29.1 but up 11 % vs last year’s Patriots-Colts game that aired in primetime and drew a 24.2. Considering the merciless pounding the Panthers put on the Cardinals, that’s still an excellent result.