‘Idol,’ NFL boost Fox ratings

The most-watched NFL conference championship game since 1982 and two “American Idol” episodes helped Fox draw the largest weekly average for any television network in the last two broadcast seasons.

With the National Football Conference Championship Game averaging 57.93 million viewers, and the two “Idol” episodes finishing second and third, Fox averaged 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 matchup between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, which averaged 68.7 million viewers.

Sunday’s game was also the most-watched prime-time program, other than Super Bowls, since the 1998 finale of the NBC comedy “Seinfeld,” which averaged 76.3 million viewers.