The charts below list final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts. All ratings listed are U.S. ratings (THE DAILY).
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
NFL Thanksgiving:
Dolphins-Cowboys | 11/24 | CBS | 4:17-7:31pm | 14.3 | 30,901 |
| NFL Thanksgiving: Packers-Lions | 11/24 | Fox | 12:36-3:48pm | 14.8 | 30,171 |
"NFL on CBS":
Patriots-Eagles (72%) | 11/27 | CBS | 4:17-7:39pm | 15.5 | 26,246 |
"Sunday Night Football":
Steelers-Chiefs | 11/27 | NBC | 8:31-11:23pm | 12.3 | 20,344 |
| "NFL on Fox": (single) | 11/27 | Fox | 1:03-4:21pm | 10.4 | 17,245 |
| "NFL on CBS": (regional) | 11/27 | CBS | 1:03-4:11pm | 9.9 | 15,568 |
| NCAA Football: Arkansas-LSU | 11/25 | CBS | 2:30-6:05pm | 6.3 | 10,444 |
| National Dog Show (taped) | 11/24 | NBC | 12:00-2:00pm | 4.4 | 8,243 |
NCAA Football:
Ohio State-Michigan | 11/26 | ABC | 12:00-3:37pm | 5.1 | 7,958 |
| "The NFL Today" | 11/24 | CBS | 3:30-4:00pm | 5.0 | n/a |
| NCAA Football: Alabama-Auburn | 11/26 | CBS | 3:30-6:56pm | 4.5 | 7,508 |
| "Football Night in America" | 11/27 | NBC | 7:30-8:15pm | 4.5 | 7,165 |
| "Fox NFL Special" | 11/24 | Fox | 11:30am-12:36pm | 4.2 | n/a |
| NCAA Football: Notre Dame-Stanford | 11/26 | ABC | 8:06-11:43pm | 3.9 | 6,158 |
| "The NFL Today" | 11/27 | CBS | 12:00-1:00pm | 3.1 | n/a |
| NCAA Football: (regional) | 11/26 | ABC | 3:37-7:02pm | 2.8 | 4,539 |
| NCAA Football: Iowa-Nebraska | 11/25 | ABC | 12:00-3:21pm | 2.7 | 4,259 |
| "Fox NFL Sunday" | 11/27 | Fox | 12:00-1:00pm | 2.5 | n/a |
Figure Skating: Kaleidoscope
on Ice (taped) | 11/24 | Fox | 4:11-5:11pm | 2.2 | 3,952 |
NCAA Football:
Boston College-Miami | 11/25 | ABC | 3:30-7:00pm | 1.4 | 2,103 |
Figure Skating: Unforgettable
Holiday Moments on Ice (taped) | 11/27 | NBC | 4:00-6:00pm | 1.3 | 1,806 |
| "Best of College Football 2011" | 11/25 | CBS | 1:30-2:30pm | 1.3 | n/a |
Mexico soccer:
CD Guadalajara-Queretaro | 11/26 | Telem | 7:55-10:09pm | 0.8 | 1,717 |
| NHL: Red Wings-Bruins | 11/25 | NBC | 1:00-4:00pm | 0.9 | 1,333 |
Figure Skating:
ISU Grand Prix (taped) | 11/27 | NBC | 2:00-4:00pm | 0.8 | 1,162 |
| "College Football Today" | 11/26 | CBS | 3:00-3:30pm | 0.8 | n/a |
Mexico soccer:
Santos Laguna-Jaguares | 11/27 | Telef | 5:55-7:57pm | 0.6 | 1,063 |
Mexico soccer:
Tigres UANL-Pachuca | 11/27 | Telem | 7:55-10:00pm | 0.5 | 1,004 |
| Skiing: Aspen Winternational (taped) | 11/27 | NBC | 1:00-2:00pm | 0.5 | 845 |
NCAA Football: Bayou Classic:
Grambling State-Southern | 11/26 | NBC | 2:30-6:00pm | 0.6 | 791 |
| "CBS College Football 2011" | 11/26 | CBS | 2:30-3:00pm | 0.4 | n/a |
| Lucas Oil Off Road Racing (taped) | 11/26 | CBS | 1:30-2:30pm | 0.3 | n/a |
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
"Monday Night Football":
Chiefs-Patriots | 11/21 | ESPN | 8:30-11:38pm | 7.8 | 12,344 |
"Thursday Night Football":
49ers-Ravens | 11/24 | NFLN | 8:30-11:15pm | 5.3 | 10,681 |
| "Thursday Night Football Pre-Kick" | 11/24 | NFLN | 8:00-8:30pm | 3.4 | 7,327 |
NCAA Football:
Texas-Texas A&M | 11/24 | ESPN | 8:00pm-12:03am | 2.4 | 4,146 |
NCAA Football:
Pittsburgh-West Virginia | 11/25 | ESPN | 7:12-10:28pm | 2.3 | 3,765 |
NCAA Football:
Penn State-Wisconsin | 11/26 | ESPN | 3:30-6:47pm | 2.0 | 3,290 |
NCAA Football:
Clemson-South Carolina | 11/26 | ESPN | 7:41-10:58pm | 1.9 | 3,091 |
| "Monday Night Countdown" | 11/21 | ESPN | 7:00-8:30pm | 2.1 | 2,983 |
NCAA Football:
Georgia-Georgia Tech | 11/26 | ESPN | 12:02-3:16pm | 1.7 | 2,624 |
College Football:
Florida State-Florida | 11/26 | ESPN2 | 7:05-10:41pm | 1.5 | 2,562 |
| | | | | | |
TUNING OUT: The GLOBE & MAIL's Bruce Dowbiggin noted for the CBC's "Hockey Night in Canada" there is a "considerable drop in viewers the instant game action ends and the theme music for Coach’s Corner begins." Ratings during the first period of the Nov. 26 "HNIC" "peaked at about 2.2 million viewers at 7:45 p.m. ET." But "by 7:58, that figure had plummeted by almost 800,000 to about 1.4 million during the first intermission of the show, precisely when [Don] Cherry is in mid-jeremiad." The week before, first-period numbers "peaked around 2.5 million viewers." By the time Cherry was on, "almost a million people had found something else to do, as the number dipped to around 1.5 million." But Dowbiggin noted "Coach’s Corner is still good business at CBC." Cherry’s advertising spots "still sell out and garner significant revenue." Dowbiggin: "The conclusion is that Cherry remains a strong brand, but claims that he brings viewers to 'HNIC' or that his segment powers the ratings are not borne out by this season's numbers." The game itself "remains the biggest selling point" (GLOBE & MAIL, 12/2).
NOTES: Golf Channel saw the net's most-viewed November in its near 17-year history, highlighted by record-breaking viewership for the Emirates Australian Open and The Presidents Cup. November was also the net's most-watched month of '11 and second-most-watched month in Golf Channel history (Golf Channel)....NESN garnered an 8.4 local rating for the Bruins' win over the Sabres on Nov. 23, marking the best regular-season Bruins game rating in the net's 28-year history. NESN also finished with a 5.3 local rating for Bruins games in November, marking the highest average monthly Bruins rating in net history. The rating is up 33% over the previous best monthly average of 4.0 recorded in March last season (NESN). The Nov. 23 Sabres-Bruins game also drew the highest TV rating so far this season on MSG, posting a 12.1 local rating (Sabres).
