NFL GAMES TOP RATED IN 26 MARKETS IN “PREMIERE WEEK”
Steelers-Bengals on CBS Week’s Third Most-Watched Show
Panthers-Cowboys on ESPN Most-Watched Show on Cable in 2009
NFL Games Are 6 Most-Watched Sporting Events since Super Bowl
NFL games topped the local ratings in 26 markets last week, which featured the premieres of many prime-time programs on the broadcast networks (up from 19 top-ranked NFL markets in “premiere week” last year).
NFL games compared favorably in local ratings to prime-time competition:
| Program |
# of NFL Markets Ranked #1 |
| NFL Football |
26 |
| Dancing with the Stars premiere |
2 |
| 60 Minutes |
1 |
| Local MLB postgame show |
1 |
The CBS doubleheader game (mostly Steelers-Bengals) was the third-most watched show on television for the week with 18.2 million viewers – trailing the season premiere of NCIS (20.6 million) and series premiere of NCIS: Los Angeles (18.7 million). The NBC Sunday night Colts-Cardinals game ranked fifth for the week with 17.5 million viewers. Both games topped the premieres of popular shows including House, Grey’s Anatomy, CSI and 60 Minutes.
Including Sunday’s Steelers-Bengals viewership, NFL games now account for the six most-watched sporting events since Super Bowl XLIII.
Panthers-Cowboys on ESPN Monday night drew cable’s largest audience of 2009 with 15.7 million viewers. ESPN Monday night games account for cable’s four most-watched shows this year.
NFL games topped the local ratings in 26 of 30 NFL markets last week. Following are the NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Sept. 21-27:
| Week of 9/21 – 9/27 |
|
HH |
HH |
RTG |
|
| Market | Game |
Date |
RTG |
SHR |
Rank |
| Pittsburgh | Steelers at Bengals |
9/27/09 |
48.2 |
72 |
1 |
| New Orleans | Saints at Bills |
9/27/09 |
41.7 |
59 |
1 |
| Indianapolis | Colts at Cardinals |
9/27/09 |
39.4 |
53 |
1 |
| Cincinnati | Steelers at Bengals |
9/27/09 |
35.8 |
57 |
1 |
| Milwaukee | Packers at Rams |
9/27/09 |
32.4 |
62 |
1 |
| Minneapolis | 49ers at Vikings |
9/27/09 |
31.1 |
63 |
1 |
| Buffalo | Saints at Bills |
9/27/09 |
30.4 |
52 |
1 |
| Denver | Broncos at Raiders |
9/27/09 |
29.8 |
58 |
1 |
| San Diego | Dolphins at Chargers |
9/27/09 |
29.8 |
57 |
1 |
| Baltimore | Browns at Ravens |
9/27/09 |
28.7 |
55 |
1 |
| Jacksonville | Jaguars at Texans |
9/27/09 |
28.6 |
47 |
1 |
| Chicago | Bears at Seahawks |
9/27/09 |
27.7 |
52 |
1 |
| Boston | Falcons at Patriots |
9/27/09 |
26.8 |
55 |
1 |
| Nashville | Titans at Jets |
9/27/09 |
26.0 |
47 |
1 |
| Philadelphia | Chiefs at Eagles |
9/27/09 |
25.4 |
47 |
1 |
| Kansas City | Chiefs at Eagles |
9/27/09 |
24.5 |
52 |
1 |
| Phoenix | Colts at Cardinals |
9/27/09 |
23.8 |
39 |
1 |
| Washington, DC | Redskins at Lions |
9/27/09 |
22.1 |
48 |
1 |
| Miami* | Colts at Dolphins |
9/21/09 |
21.8 |
33 |
1 |
| Seattle | Bears at Seahawks |
9/27/09 |
21.7 |
48 |
1 |
| Tampa | Giants at Buccaneers |
9/27/09 |
21.4 |
40 |
1 |
| Cleveland | Browns at Ravens |
9/27/09 |
21.3 |
46 |
1 |
| Atlanta | Falcons at Patriots |
9/27/09 |
19.8 |
39 |
1 |
| Houston | Jaguars at Texans |
9/27/09 |
16.6 |
34 |
1 |
| San Fran-Oakland | 49ers at Vikings |
9/27/09 |
15.8 |
43 |
1 |
| Dallas | Colts at Cardinals |
9/27/09 |
13.1 |
21 |
1 |
* Local affiliate & ESPN combined
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