NFL games airing in primetime are breaking records this season, and they share one common denominator: the Dallas Cowboys.
First it was the thrilling September 15th matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles on ESPN’s Monday Night Football.  The Cowboys prevailed in a 41-37 shootout watched by 18.6 million viewers, the most ever for a cable program.

RANK
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
60 MINUTES
CBS
25,104,000

2
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
18,693,000

3
CSI
CBS
19,050,000

4
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
19,272,000

5
NCIS
CBS
18,745,000

6
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
16,521,000

7
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
16,842,000

8
THE MENTALIST
CBS
16,516,000

9
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
14,902,000

10
CMA AWARDS(S)
ABC
15,905,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 10-16, 2008).

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
60 MINUTES
CBS
18,471,000

2
CSI
CBS
18,175,000

3
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
17,564,000

4
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
17,089,000

5
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
15,854,000

6
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)
ABC
15,848,000

7
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,740,000

8
SNL PRESIDENTIAL BASH ‘08(S)
NBC
14,436,000

9
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,304,000

10
VOTE 2008-9:00PM(S)
ABC
14,185,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (November 3 – 9, 2008).

Rank
Program
Network
Viewers (P2+)

1
FOX WRLD SERIES GM5 CONCL(S)
FOX
19,844,000

2
CSI
CBS
19,098,000

3
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
18,876,000

4
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
17,445,000

5
NCIS
CBS
17,258,000

6
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
16,741,000

7
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
16,073,000

8
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
15,933,000

9
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
15,319,000

10
60 MINUTES
CBS
14,322,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (October 27, 2008 – November 2, 2008).

Each week, Nielsen Sports’ analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.
Professional baseball, football, basketball, hockey — and even NASCAR — all converge in October, making it one of the year’s busiest sports months.  Unfortunately, that plethora of options frequently presents sports fans with difficult TV viewing decisions.
Take this past Sunday — when NBC’s Sunday Night Football carried live coverage of the San Diego Chargers playing the New England Patriots.  Meanwhile, Game 3 of the MLB National League Championship Series aired live on FOX.

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
18,883,000

2
NCIS
CBS
17,470,000

3
60 MINUTES
CBS
16,648,000

4
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
15,685,000

5
DANCING W/STARS RESULTS
ABC
15,491,000

6
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
15,484,000

7
CSI: NY
CBS
14,878,000

8
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
14,780,000

9
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
14,345,000

10
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
14,207,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 29, 2008 – October 5, 2008).

RANK
NAME
NETWORK
VIEWERS (P2+)

1
DANCING WITH THE STARS
ABC
21,338,000

2
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES
ABC
18,684,000

3
GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM
ABC
18,469,000

4
DANCING W/STARS SP-9/23(S)
ABC
18,302,000

5
NCIS
CBS
18,026,000

6
NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL
NBC
17,340,000

7
CSI: MIAMI
CBS
17,233,000

8
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
17,007,000

9
DANCING W/STARS RESULT SP(S)
ABC
15,867,000

10
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
15,603,000

Source: The Nielsen Company (September 22, 2008 – September, 28 2008)

Each week, Nielsen Sports’ analysts offer their take on the biggest sports media headlines.
Ryder Cup Golf — Minus Tiger
Last Friday morning, 1.4 million ESPN viewers tuned in to Ryder Cup golf coverage from Louisville, Kentucky.  With the world’s best golfer, Tiger Woods, sidelined, golf fans were introduced to Team USA Captain Paul Azinger’s rag-tag group of Ryder Cup rookies.  On Saturday, Ryder Cup’s TV audience more than doubled — an average of 3.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the tournament action on NBC, and on Sunday, 3.9 million NBC viewers watched …