Huddle House

Ratings For Giants' Win Down 22% From Last Year

Football season is officially upon us, as the Giants successfully begin the defense of their Super Bowl win in defeating the Redskins 16-7 last night. The game’s kickoff was moved up 90 minutes to accommodate the Republican National Convention, and that certainly is a factor in explaining NBC’s 10.1/17 overnight rating for the game, a 22% drop from last year's Saints-Colts season debut. The early start time did not hinder the New York fans, though, who vociferously let Giants Chair Steve Tisch know their feelings about the club’s new PSL plan. Meanwhile, away from the field, a new lawsuit filed by CBS against the NFLPA could put a crimp in what is becoming the new national pastime -- fantasy football. The media conglomerate argues the union is wrongly pressuring it to pay licensing fees for fantasy games. But not all NFL-related news is negative -- the league announces a new five-year deal with the National Dairy Council and Randy Moss heads into the season with a new national marketing campaign with Pony.