Last night's NFC Championship game between the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants earned the highest TV ratings in 17 years, according to tweets from FOX Sports Vice President of Communications Dan P. Bell.
The game earned a 33.4/48 overnight rating/share which was the highest overnight for any conference championship game since 1995 when the 49ers and Dallas Cowboys game came in at 34.2/57.
The 33.4/48 mark was also 11% higher than last year's game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, which came in at 30.0/52. The game saved the best for last as it peaked during the overtime session from 10 to 10:30 pm EST at 39.3/55.
The combination of the resurgent 49ers and a New York-based team proved to be just what FOX wanted. Having one prominent west coast team against a prominent east coast team definitely helped.
For more on the 49ers, check out Niners Nation.