Cowboys-Giants Most-Watched NBC Primetime Game Ever
NFL Games Top Ratings In All 30 Markets
NFL games topped ratings in all 30 local markets in Week 17 for the fourth time in five years as teams made their final pushes for the Playoffs. For the season, NFL games were the highest rated program locally 91 percent of the time.
The Cowboys-Giants Sunday night game was the most-watched NBC primetime game ever and the most-watched show among all programs last week with 27.6 million viewers.
Following is the list of the NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Dec. 26, 2011 – Jan 1, 2012:
| Week of 12/26/11-1/1/12 |
|
HH |
HH |
RTG |
|
| Market | Game |
Date |
RTG |
SHR |
Rank |
| New Orleans | Falcons at Saints* |
12/26/11 |
57.4 |
78 |
1 |
| Milwaukee | Lions at Packers |
1/1/12 |
49.5 |
75 |
1 |
| Pittsburgh | Steelers at Browns |
1/1/12 |
48.1 |
72 |
1 |
| Cincinnati | Ravens at Bengals |
1/1/12 |
40.9 |
63 |
1 |
| Denver | Chiefs and Broncos |
1/1/12 |
39.3 |
72 |
1 |
| Baltimore | Ravens at Bengals |
1/1/12 |
39.1 |
60 |
1 |
| Kansas City | Chiefs and Broncos |
1/1/12 |
38.9 |
60 |
1 |
| Dallas | Cowboys at Giants |
1/1/12 |
37.1 |
55 |
1 |
| Boston | Bills at Patriots |
1/1/12 |
35.3 |
63 |
1 |
| Cleveland | Steelers at Browns |
1/1/12 |
33.6 |
55 |
1 |
| Detroit | Lions at Packers |
1/1/12 |
31.5 |
55 |
1 |
| Minneapolis | Bears at Vikings |
1/1/12 |
29.5 |
57 |
1 |
| Buffalo | Bills at Patriots |
1/1/12 |
28.3 |
47 |
1 |
| Nashville | Titans at Texans |
1/1/12 |
27.8 |
46 |
1 |
| Atlanta | Falcons at Saints* |
12/26/11 |
27.6 |
44 |
1 |
| Indianapolis | Colts at Jaguars |
1/1/12 |
27.0 |
46 |
1 |
| New York | Cowboys at Giants |
1/1/12 |
25.3 |
38 |
1 |
| San Diego | Chargers at Raiders |
1/1/12 |
25.1 |
56 |
1 |
| Charlotte | Panthers at Saints |
1/1/12 |
24.4 |
44 |
1 |
| Houston | Titans at Texans |
1/1/12 |
23.9 |
47 |
1 |
| Philadelphia | Redskins at Eagles |
1/1/12 |
23.0 |
41 |
1 |
| Jacksonville | Chiefs and Broncos |
1/1/12 |
22.7 |
36 |
1 |
| Chicago | Bears at Vikings |
1/1/12 |
22.3 |
44 |
1 |
| Washington, DC | Cowboys at Giants |
1/1/12 |
22.2 |
37 |
1 |
| Seattle | Seahawks at Cardinals |
1/1/12 |
21.3 |
43 |
1 |
| Phoenix | Seahawks at Cardinals |
1/1/12 |
21.0 |
42 |
1 |
| San Fran-Oakland | 49ers at Rams |
1/1/12 |
20.3 |
51 |
1 |
| Miami | Jets at Dolphins |
1/1/12 |
17.5 |
40 |
1 |
| St. Louis | 49ers at Rams |
1/1/12 |
16.1 |
32 |
1 |
| Tampa | Cowboys at Giants |
1/1/12 |
13.8 |
24 |
1 |
* Local affiliate & ESPN combined
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company
NFL 2011 TV RECAP
MORE THAN 200 MILLION FANS TUNE IN
23 OF 25 MOST-WATCHED SHOWS THIS FALL
RECORD 37 SHOWS EARN MORE THAN 20 MILLION VIEWERS
NFL GAME VIEWERSHIP MORE THAN DOUBLES BROADCAST PRIMETIME
RECORD SEASON FOR NFL NETWORK & NFL DIGITAL PROPERTIES
Football fans tuned into the 2011 NFL season in big numbers. According to The Nielsen Company, the 2011 regular season reached more than 200 million unique viewers.
NFL games were watched by an average of 17.5 million viewers –the NFL’s second highest viewership average since 1989 (17.9 million in 2010), before the explosion of viewer choice on television and online.
NFL games accounted for 23 of the 25 most-watched TV shows among all programming and the 16 most-watched shows on cable last fall. In addition, a record 37 NFL game telecasts averaged at least 20 million viewers – topping the previous mark set last year (35) and up from 16 in 2006.
NFL games continue to more than double broadcast primetime viewership. NFL games on CBS, FOX and NBC averaged 19.8 million viewers – 144 percent higher than the average primetime viewership among the four major over-the-air networks (8.1 million average on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). That NFL advantage is up from a 66 percent edge five years ago.
FOX matched 2010 for its most-watched season ever while NFL Network’s Thursday Night Footballposted its most-watched season ever. NBC Sunday Night Football was the most-watched show in primetime for the second consecutive fall TV season. ESPN’s Monday Night Football continued as cable’s most-watched program for the sixth season in a row. CBS had its second most-watched season since acquiring the AFC package.
For the season, NFL games were the highest rated program locally 91 percent of the time – the second consecutive season topping 90 percent.
More 2011 NFL TV highlights (through the 2011 NFL regular season ending on 1/1/12):
- ·NBC Sunday Night Football ranked as the most-watched primetime program for the second consecutive fall season averaging 21.5 million viewers. The Week 17 SNF game (Cowboys-Giants) was the most-watched Sunday primetime game in NFL regular-season history with an average of 27.6 million viewers.
- FOX’s Sunday National telecast was the most-watched show among all programs with an average of 25.8 million viewers.
- CBS’ Sunday National telecast was the second-most-watched program among all shows with an average of 24.3 million viewers.
- ESPN’s Monday Night Football was the most-watched series on cable for the sixth straight yearwith an average of 13.3 million viewers.
- NFL Network wrapped up its sixth season of Thursday Night Football with a record average of 6.2 million cable viewers.
- Thanksgiving weekend was the most-watched NFL regular-season weekend in 18 years and featured a pair of Thanksgiving afternoon games (CBS’ Miami at Dallas and FOX’s Green Bay at Detroit) topping 30 million average viewers — the first time both broadcast networks topped the 30-million mark on Thanksgiving Day. The Thanksgiving night Thursday Night Football game on NFL Network (San Francisco at Baltimore) was the most-watched cable program in Thanksgiving historyand the most watched game in the eight-year history of NFLN with an average of 10.7 million viewers.
- NFL Network’s average weekday primetime viewership jumped 18 percent over last year while Sunday shows – featuring the NFL GameDay lineup – were up 15 percent.
- Fans visited the NFL’s digital media platforms including NFL.com, NFL Mobile Only From Verizon and other NFL mobile products in record numbers in 2011. Many viewed the digital content via multiple access points resulting in arecord total of 71 million fans per month – up 27 percent from last year. In addition, fans accessed 70 percent more video than in 2010 and accounted for a 67 percent jump in page views.
NFL VS. PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP ON BROADCAST TV
|
NFL on |
Broadcast |
NFL |
|
|
Broadcast |
Primetime |
% Advantage |
|
| 2002 Avg. Viewers |
15.8 million |
10.3 million |
52% |
| 2003 Avg. Viewers |
15.5 million |
9.9 million |
56% |
| 2004 Avg. Viewers |
15.4 million |
9.8 million |
57% |
| 2005 Avg. Viewers |
15.6 million |
9.7 million |
61% |
| 2006 Avg. Viewers |
16.3 million |
9.8 million |
66% |
| 2007 Avg. Viewers |
16.6 million |
8.7 million |
91% |
| 2008 Avg. Viewers |
16.6 million |
8.8 million |
89% |
| 2009 Avg. Viewers |
18.4 million |
8.5 million |
116% |
| 2010 Avg. Viewers |
20.0 million |
8.2 million |
144% |
| 2011 Avg. Viewers |
19.8 million |
8.1 million |
144% |
| Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company. NFL regular season on Broadcast television | |||
| (CBS, FOX & NBC…ABC prior to 2006). Broadcast primetime on BIG 4 networks (ABC, CBS, NBC & FOX) all programs, NFL regular season dates used. | |||
Following are the 25 most-watched shows of the fall TV season:
| Program (Game) | Viewers |
| 1. CBS Thanksgiving (Dolphins-Cowboys), 11/24 | 31.0 million |
| 3. FOX Thanksgiving (Packers-Lions), 11/6 | 30.2 million |
| 3. FOX Sunday National (mostly Packers-Giants), 12/4 | 29.8 million |
| 3. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Broncos), 12/18 | 28.2 million |
| 5. CBS’ Two and a Half Men (Season Premiere), 9/19 | 28.7 million |
| 6. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Patriots), 10/16 | 28.4 million |
| 7. FOX Sunday National (mostly Giants-Patriots), 11/6 | 28.2 million |
| 8. NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Giants), 1/1/12 | 27.6 million |
| 9. NBC Thursday Night Kickoff Game (Saints-Packers), 9/8 | 27.1 million |
| 10. CBS Sunday National (mostly Chiefs-Broncos), 1/1/12 | 27.0 million |
| 11. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Eagles), 11/27 | 26.2 million |
| 12. FOX Sunday National (mostly Giants-49ers), 11/13 | 25.9 million |
| 13. FOX Sunday National (mostly Giants-Redskins), 9/11 | 25.8 million |
| 14. NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Jets), 9/11 | 25.8 million |
| 15. FOX World Series Game 7 (Rangers-Cardinals), 10/28 | 25.4 million |
| 16. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Steelers), 10/30 | 24.6 million |
| 17. NBC Sunday Night Football (Giants-Cowboys), 12/11 | 24.5 million |
| 18. FOX Sunday National (mostly Packers-Vikings), 10/23 | 24.3 million |
| 19. NBC Sunday Night Football (Bears-Packers), 12/25 | 24.0 million |
| 20. FOX Sunday National (mostly Packers-Bears), 9/25 | 24.0 million |
| 21. NBC Sunday Night Football (Eagles-Falcons), 9/18 | 23.4 million |
| 21. FOX Sunday Single (mostly Redskins-Giants), 12/18 | 23.4 million |
| 23. FOX Sunday Single (mostly Lions-Cowboys), 10/2 | 23.3 million |
| 24. CBS Sunday National (mostly Packers-Broncos), 10/2 | 23.0 million |
| 25. NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Eagles), 10/30 | 23.0 million |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company, 9/4/11 – 1/1/12
Following are the 15 most-watched basic cable shows of the fall TV season:
| Program, Date | Viewers |
| 1. ESPN Monday Night Football (Redskins-Cowboys), 9/26 |
17.1 million |
| 2. ESPN Monday Night Football (Bears-Eagles), 11/7 |
16.8 million |
| 3. ESPN Monday Night Football (Steelers-49ers), 12/19 |
16.7 million |
| 4. ESPN Monday Night Football (Bears-Lions), 10/10 |
16.4 million |
| 5. ESPN Monday Night Football (Falcons-Saints), 12/26 |
15.6 million |
| 6. ESPN Monday Night Football (Patriots-Dolphins), 9/12 |
14.6 million |
| 7. ESPN Monday Night Football (Giants-Saints), 11/28 |
14.4 million |
| 8. ESPN Monday Night Football (Vikings-Packers), 11/14 |
14.2 million |
| 9. ESPN Monday Night Football (Chiefs-Patriots), 11/21 |
12.3 million |
| 10. ESPN Monday Night Football (Dolphins-Jets), 10/17 |
12.1 million |
| 11. ESPN Monday Night Football (Chargers-Chiefs), 10/31 |
12.0 million |
| 12. ESPN Monday Night Football (Rams-Giants), 9/19 |
11.9 million |
| 13. ESPN Monday Night Football (Raiders-Broncos), 9/12 |
11.1 million |
| 14. ESPN Monday Night Football (Colts-Bucs), 10/3 |
10.8 million |
| 15. NFLN Thursday Night Football (49ers-Ravens), 11/24 |
10.7 million |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company, 9/4/11 – 1/1/12
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