Paramount+ sets new record for NFL streams

By Phil Nickinson February 1, 2022

Paramount+, the streaming network that encompasses all things CBS, set a new record for its “most-streamed NFL season ever,” parent company ViacomCBS announced today.

The first three rounds of the postseason — with wild card games, divisional championships, and finally the conference championship — noted three straight record weekends on Paramount+, with the Cincinnati Bengals-Kansas City Chiefs AFC Championship game (which required overtime after quarterback Patrick Mahomes blew it) seeing triple-digit growth in total streams, streaming minutes, and unique viewers over last year’s conference championship game in which the Chiefs beat the Buffalo Bills.

Paramount Plus app icon on Apple TV. — Digital Trends

And that’s just the streaming side of things. CBS Sports itself noted its highest-watched NFL Season in the past six years and its largest audience overall for the AFC Championship game. That overtime win from Cincinnati averaged 47.851 million viewers and spiked to 60.99 million viewers, which was the third straight game to hit more than 50 million viewers at the peak.

By comparison, CBS averaged a little more than 21 million viewers across the regular season and playoffs, up 13% over a year ago.

On the NFC side of things (and with a post on Twitter serving as a less-comprehensive news release), Fox Sports says that the conference championship between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams averaged 50.42 million viewers across all its platforms, peaking at 55.218 million viewers. The Rams won that game 20-17 in regulation.

And that’s it for both Fox and CBS for the season. Super Bowl LVI will be broadcast on NBC at 6:30 p.m. on Sunday, February 13. It’ll be available on every major streaming platform, cable and satellite, and on NBCUniversal’s Peacock service.

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