NEW YORK -- The New York Giants' 23-20 overtime victory over the Green Bay Packers got a 31.7 overnight rating on FOX, the highest for an NFL conference championship game since 1996.
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The Giants' win, which set up a Super Bowl matchup with the New England Patriots, got a 46 share, FOX said Monday. The rating was up 21 percent from the 26.2/46 for the Chicago Bears' 39-14 win over the New Orleans Saints in last year's NFC championship, which was in the early time slot.
Sunday's Giants game received the highest rating for any television broadcast since the Indianapolis Colts' 29-17 win over the Bears in last year's Super Bowl.
New England's 21-12 victory over the San Diego Chargers in the AFC championship received a 27.4/48, down 2 percent from the 28.1/40 for Patriots' 38-34 loss to Indianapolis in the late time slot last year.
The rating is the percentage of television households in the nation viewing a telecast, and the share is the percentage among those homes with televisions in use at the time.
Overnights measure the largest markets in the nation. National ratings will be released later this week.
Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press