ESPN earned a 10.0 overnight Nielsen rating for the Saints' blowout win over the Giants last night on "MNF," up 23% from an 8.1 rating for the comparative 49ers-Cardinals "MNF" game in '10. Giants-Saints earned a 17.4 rating on ESPN and a 43.6 rating on WDSU-NBC in New Orleans. The N.Y. market saw the game draw a 10.1 rating on ESPN and a 5.6 rating on WWOR-MYT (THE DAILY).
COLTS CUT FROM TV: In Indiana, Justin Cohn noted the Colts' game against the Panthers Sunday did not air in the Ft. Wayne market for the "first time in at least a decade." WISE-Fox "had the rights to the Colts' home game, but it could only broadcast one game because CBS had the doubleheader Sunday." The station chose instead to air Bears-Raiders in the late-window. WISE President & GM Jerry Giesler said, "We talked a lot about it internally. Of course, the year in, year out logical choice would be the Colts. Absolutely, no question. The reason we went with the Bears was to follow the compelling story, their (playoff) hopes alive, a new quarterback." Ft. Wayne is "considered a secondary market" for the Colts (Ft. Wayne JOURNAL GAZETTE, 11/28).
WHEN YOU GOTTA GO....: In N.Y., Richard Sandomir noted during Sunday's Chargers-Broncos game on CBS, instead of going to commercials after the Broncos tied the game with less than two minutes to play, CBS "stayed live, alternating sideline shots with highlights and statistics in advance" of the Broncos' kickoff to the Chargers. During that time, cameras caught Chargers K Nick Novak kneeling on the sidelines going to the bathroom. CBS announcers Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts "said nothing about Novak" at the time. Eagle yesterday said, "Doing this for as long as I've done it, your instincts kick in, and there was nothing I could say that would further punctuate the moment." He added, "This is my 14th year calling the NFL and I’ve never noticed a player on the sidelines relieving himself" (NYTIMES.com, 11/28). Meanwhile, WTVT-Fox in Tampa has "apologized for an 'inappropriate' live shot during the station’s postgame report that included a nude Tampa Bay Buccaneers player in the locker room." Bucs OT Donald Penn "was in a group interview that WTVT was broadcasting while an unidentified player dressed in the background showing viewers 'full frontal nudity'” (NATIONALFOOTBALLPOST.com, 11/29).
TUNING IN LOCALLY: WBZ-CBS earned a 38.7 rating for Sunday's Patriots-Eagles game, making it the highest-rated Patriots game of the season in the market. Of the Patriots' 10 games with recorded ratings, eight have been gotten at least a 30.0 mark locally, including six which have eclipsed a 35.0 rating. Sunday's mark surpassed the previous season high of 38.5, which was recorded Nov. 6 against the Giants (Patriots)....The Packers' Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions earned a 37.0 local rating and averaged 336,000 HHs in Milwaukee on WITI-Fox, the "lowest local rating for any Packers game this season." The previous 10 Packers telecasts "had averaged about 441,000 local households." Household ratings for Thanksgiving games are "traditionally low compared to garden variety Sunday games, when viewers are not as displaced from their homes" (JSONLINE.com, 11/28).
