Nielsen Wire » Sunday Night Football

SPORTS WRAP: Cowboys Star in Primetime Ratings, NFL Network Builds Its Audience

admin — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 14:18:45 +0000

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.

Then on Sunday, the Cowboys scored another television record, defeating the New York Giants in front of 23 million viewers on NBC – the most-watched game in the network’s three year history broadcasting Sunday Night Football. And which team played in each of the next two most highly rated SNF games this season? The Cowboys, of course.

Love them or hate them, Tony Romo, Terrell Owens, and their traveling football soap opera are delivering huge audiences for the networks this season. NBC’s SNF and ESPN’s MNF viewership are up 4.3% and 4.1 % respectively compared to the same time period last year, thanks in part to the power of the Cowboys’ national brand.

NFL Network
Meanwhile, the NFL Network is banking on the Cowboys’ primetime appeal as Dallas takes on the Baltimore Ravens Saturday night in a game that has playoff ramifications for both teams.

With college football on the sidelines, this weekend’s game is NFLN’s first Saturday night telecast of the season. Thursday night games on the network are so far proving to be a success for the league’s cable outlet. According to Nielsen’s latest coverage estimates, the network is available in 37% of television households across the country, with Thursday night games attracting an average of 3.4 million viewers, despite stiff primetime competition on other networks. Leading the way was a mid-November tilt between AFC East rivals New England Patriots and New York Jets, which pulled in 4.4 million viewers.

Date	2008 NFLN Thursday Night Football Matchup	Viewers (P2+)
11/6/2008	BRONCOS VS. BROWNS	3,083,000
11/13/2008	JETS VS. PATRIOTS	4,411,000
11/20/2008	BENGALS VS. STEELERS	3,226,000
11/27/2008	CARDINALS VS. EAGLES	3,777,000
12/4/2008	RAIDERS VS. CHARGERS	1,899,000
12/11/2008	SAINTS VS. BEARS	3,558,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (November 6, 2008 – December 11, 2008).

Updated 12/23/08:The trend continues! The December 20 game between the Cowboys and Baltimore Raven drew 5.76 million viewers making it the highest viewership for an NFL Network game this season, and the network’s second highest all-time.

Top 10 Broadcast TV Rankings: December 1 – 7, 2008

admin — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 18:00:44 +0000

Rank	Program	Network	Viewers (P2+)
1	MENTALIST, THE	CBS	18,742,000
2	NCIS	CBS	18,518,000
3	CSI	CBS	17,476,000
4	OT, THE	FOX	16,220,000
5	DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES	ABC	16,088,000
6	GREY’S ANATOMY-THU 9PM	ABC	15,279,000
7	60 MINUTES	CBS	13,794,000
8	TWO AND A HALF MEN	CBS	13,630,000
9	NBC SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL	NBC	13,286,000
10	BARBARA WALTERS PRESENTS (S)	ABC	13,191,000
Source: The Nielsen Company (December 1, 2008 – December 7, 2008).

Top 10 Broadcast TV Rankings: Nov. 10 – Nov. 16, 2008

Nielsen Wire — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:40:43 +0000

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).

Top 10 Broadcast TV Rankings: Nov. 3 – Nov. 9, 2008

admin — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:00:07 +0000

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).

Top 10 Broadcast TV Rankings: Oct. 27 – Nov. 2, 2008

admin — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 13:01:07 +0000

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).

SPORTS WRAP: Sunday Night Sports — Is More, Better?

admin — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:24:57 +0000

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.

NBC’s broadcast drew an average audience of 13.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen, while FOX’s MLB coverage drew 8.8 million average viewers.

The two games, broadcast simultaneously, triggered a fair bit of channel switching. According to Nielsen Sports, 37% of NBC’s Sunday Night Football audience watched at least six minutes of FOX’s MLB coverage. Meanwhile, 48% of those who watched the baseball game also watched at least six minutes of NBC’s NFL coverage.

Top 10 Broadcast TV Rankings: Sept. 29 – Oct. 5, 2008

admin — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 21:31:43 +0000

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).

Top 10 Broadcast TV Rankings: September 22 – 28, 2008

admin — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 21:14:27 +0000

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)

SPORTS WRAP: Ryder Without Tiger; Cowboys And Packers’ Big Score; Yankee Stadium Finale

admin — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 18:23:25 +0000

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 as the underdogs from the U.S. earned the U.S. its first Ryder Cup win in nine years. Who says golf isn’t a team sport?

Record-Breaking Football Ratings
In the NFL, the Dallas Cowboys v. Green Bay Packers game last Sunday night (Sept. 21) set a season record for Sunday Night football TV viewing this fall — more than 21.7 million U.S. viewers tuned in for the game on NBC. Meanwhile, ESPN’s streak of record-breaking Monday Night Football TV audiences continued with the New York Jets vs. San Diego Chargers game (Sept. 22), which drew this year’s fourth largest cable audience. Could it be that Fantasy Football has finally entered the mainstream?

Date	Network	Sunday Night Football: Matchup	Viewers (P2+)	U.S. Average Audience (% of Households) *
9/21/2008	NBC	Dallas Cowboys @ Green Bay Packers	21,729,000	13.1
9/14/2008	NBC	Pittsburgh Steelers @ Cleveland Browns	17,834,000	10.8
9/7/2008	NBC	Chicago Bears @ Indianapolis Colts	18,351,000	11.2
9/4/2008	NBC	Washington Redskins @ New York Giants	13,531,000	8.6
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 4, 2008 – September 21, 2008)
Note: Data includes Live and Same Day DVR viewing; percentage of U.S. households indicates the average audience during entire telecast.

Date	Network	Monday Night Football: Matchup	Viewers (P2+)	Coverage Area Audience (% of Households) *
9/22/2008	ESPN	New York Jets @ San Diego Chargers	11,881,000	8.9
9/15/2008	ESPN	Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys	18,608,000	13.3
9/8/2008	ESPN	Denver Broncos @ Oakland Raiders	9,665,000	7.3
9/8/2008	ESPN	Minnesota Vikings @ Green Bay Packers	12,501,000	9.3
Source: The Nielsen Company (September 8, 2008 – September 22, 2008)
Note: Data includes Live and Same Day DVR viewing; percentage of U.S. cable households indicates the average audience during entire telecast.

Good-Bye, Yankee Stadium
Despite competition from the Emmys (12.3 million viewers on ABC) and Sunday Night Football (22 million viewers on NBC), Yankee Stadium’s last ever television appearance — during the Yankees v. Orioles game — drew 3.1 million viewers last Sunday night. The telecast ranked as the seventh most-watched Sunday Night Baseball game this year. Yankee Stadium is closing to make way for a new stadium, opening next season.