Football and American Idol Pack In Viewers For Fox

Fox’s NFC Championship Game featuring Minnesota vs. New Orleans claimed 57.9 million viewers Sunday, the biggest conference title since 1982, and the two American Idol episodes finished second and third, giving Fox an average of 24.4 million viewers for its prime-time programming between Jan. 18 and Sunday, according to figures released Tuesday by the Nielsen Co.

Viewership for the New Orleans Saints’ 31-28 overtime victory over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday was the second largest for an NFL conference championship game, trailing only the 1982 match-up between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, which averaged 68.7 million viewers. This was thanks in part to the Saints storied run along with Brett Favre’s comeback with the Vikings.