NFC championship, ‘American Idol’ help Fox crush competition

Football, ‘American Idol’ lead to big week for Fox

NEW YORK — NFL conference championships were huge television draws for Fox and CBS.

The overtime thriller between New Orleans and Minnesota was seen Sunday by nearly 58 million people The Nielsen Co. says it was the most watched NFL conference championship since the 1982 contest between Dallas and San Francisco. The game sent the Saints to their first Super Bowl.

The AFC championship between the New York Jets and Indianapolis Colts was seen by just less than 47 million people. Nielsen says it was the most popular AFC championship in 24 years.

All of this bodes well for CBS, which televises the Indianapolis-New Orleans Super Bowl on Feb. 7.