ESPN's "MNF" Up Slightly; NBC's "SNF" Down For Only Second Time

Titans-Texans "MNF" Earned 8.9 Cable Rating And Drew 12.1 Million Viewers

ESPN earned an 8.9 cable rating and 12.1 million viewers for the Titans-Texans “MNF” game, up 1.1% and 4.6%, respectively, from an 8.8 rating and 11.6 million viewers for Browns-Bills in Week 11 last year. “MNF” to date is averaging a 10.2 cable rating and 14.0 million viewers for 12 games, up 12.1% and 14.2%, respectively, from a 9.1 rating and 12.3 million viewers. Meanwhile, NBC earned a 10.6 final rating and 17.3 million viewers for its Eagles-Bears “SNF,” down 8.6% and 10.1%, respectively, from an 11.6 rating and 19.3 million viewers for Cowboys-Redskins in ’08. Eagles-Bears marks only the second time this season “SNF” has seen a week-over-week decline from last year. For the week ending November 22, “SNF” ranked as TV’s third most-viewed primetime telecast. Through Week 11, “SNF” is averaging an 11.8 rating and 19.6 million viewers, up 16.8% and 19.0%, respectively, from a 10.1 rating and 16.4 million viewers (THE DAILY).

FISH OUT OF WATER: The Dolphins' 24-17 win over the Panthers on November 19 saw NFL Network earn a 4.1 cable rating and 3.0 million viewers. Those numbers are down 45.3% and 32.1%, respectively, from a 7.5 rating and 4.4 million viewers for the comparible Jets-Patriots game last season (THE DAILY).

RED ALERT: CRAIN'S CHICAGO BUSINESS' Ed Sherman writes the NFL RedZone channel has "completely changed the way I watch football on Sundays." The channel "whips around from game-to-game, especially when a team is within the opponent's 20-yard line," and it is "perfect if you are [a] fantasy football nut and want to see if your running back gets the call form the 2." Two things are noteworthy about RedZone -- there are "no commercials," and the channel "gives you more options than the games that air on CBS and Fox" (CHICAGOBUSINESS.com, 11/25).