Halftime Report: Fox' NFL Game Audience Continues Record-Setting Pace

Fox' NFL game telecasts are averaging a 12.0 Nielsen rating and 19.8 million viewers Week Eight, marking an all-time high for the net through the midpoint of the season. Those figures are also up from last year's 11.5 rating and 19.0 million viewers at the same point -- figures which were also record highs at the time. The NFL's three other national TV partners are seeing declines to date for game coverage. NBC is averaging a 12.8 rating and 21.3 million viewers, down slightly for both metrics compared to last season, but up from the same point in '09. Dating back to Week Seven of the '09 season, NFL regular-season games on NBC have been the highest-rated telecast for their respective nights on 35 out of 36 occasions. The net's games this season are also averaging an 8.7 rating among adults 18-49, which is a record mark through eight weeks. CBS is also seeing a slight drop for game ratings and viewership compared to '10, but the figures marks the second-highest NFL audience on the net through eight weeks since CBS re-acquired NFL rights in '98. ESPN continues to see a double-digit percentage drop for ratings and viewership for its "MNF" package. However, the game remain at the top of cable TV's most-viewed telecasts.

NFL GAME RATINGS, VIEWERSHIP THROUGH WEEK EIGHT
NET	'11 RAT.	PREV.	% +/-	'11 VIEWERS (000)	PREV.	% +/-
NBC	12.8	13.0	-1.5%	21,262	21,527	-1.2%
Fox	12.0	11.5	4.3%	19,800	19,000	4.2%
CBS	10.5	10.9	-3.7%	17,265	18,034	-4.3%
ESPN	8.2	9.2	-10.9%	12,771	14,626	-12.7%