updated 1:42 p.m. ET Jan. 20, 2004

NEW YORK - The AFC championship game received the highest overnight rating of any TV program — sports or otherwise — since last year’s Super Bowl.

The New England Patriots’ 24-14 victory over the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday got a 26.6 rating on CBS.

That’s the best overnight rating since the 2003 Super Bowl between Tampa Bay and Oakland got a 43.8 on ABC.

CBS’ rating was about 3 percent higher than last year’s AFC title game between Oakland and Tennessee.

For comparison’s sake, the Academy Awards drew a 25.5 overnight rating in March. That wartime telecast was the least-watched Oscars ceremony since Nielsen Media Research began keeping records in 1974.

The NFC championship game between the Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles got a 25.0 overnight rating on Fox, down about 8 percent from last year’s game between Tampa Bay and the Eagles. Carolina beat Philadelphia 14-3.

The rating is the percentage of all homes with TVs, whether or not they are in use. Overnight ratings measure the 55 largest TV markets in the United States, covering nearly 70 percent of the country.

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