NBC led all NFL broadcasts yesterday with a 16.1 overnight Nielsen rating for the Giants-Cowboys "SNF" telecast, marking the net's third-best NFL overnight this season. However, the 16.1 rating is down 2.4% from a 16.5 overnight for Eagles-Cowboys in Week 14 last year. "SNF" was the No. 1 broadcast on TV last night and gave NBC a primetime win. Three markets in Texas led all local ratings, led by Dallas-Ft. Worth with a 41.6, followed by San Antonio (29.8) and Austin (25.1). N.Y. ranked eighth overall with a 21.5 local rating. Fox scored a 14.3 overnight for its singleheader, marking the league's second-best singleheader window of '11. Fox' coverage was boosted by the Broncos' OT win over the Bears. CBS' earned its lowest national-window rating of the season with a 12.8 overnight. The broadcast featured the Packers' blowout win over the Raiders in 95% of markets and is down nearly 31% from last year's Week 14 national window. CBS' regional coverage in the early window earned an 11.4, up slightly from an 11.3 rating (Austin Karp, THE DAILY)..
| NFL WEEK 14 OVERNIGHT NIELSEN RATINGS |
| NET | '11 GAME | RAT. | '10 GAME | RAT. | % +/- |
| Fox | (single) | 14.3 | (single)* | 11.3 | 26.5% |
| CBS | (regional) | 11.4 | (regional) | 11.3 | 0.9% |
| CBS | Patriots-Bears (56%) | 12.8 | Patriots-Bears (56%) | 18.5 | -30.8% |
| NBC | Eagles-Cowboys | 16.1 | Eagles-Cowboys | 16.5 | -2.4% |
| | | | | | |
CHART NOTE: * = Fox' Week 14 singleheader last season was scheduled to include Giants-Vikings in 49% of markets. Game was moved to Monday night due to inclement weather causing Metrodome roof to collapse.
BETTER, BUT A WAYS TO STILL GO: In Baltimore, David Zurawik noted yesterday was the second consecutive Ravens game that was called by CBS' Bill Macatee and Steve Tasker, and the pair "didn't totally lie down and go to sleep in a game that was never in doubt." Also, the production staff gets credit "for generally matching up the images they showed with the words Tasker and Macatee were saying." However, Tasker has a "generally poor feel ... for the rhythm of a game and the mental chess match going on among the coaches and co-coordinators on opposite sides of the field." Zurawik: "The production was slightly better than last week. But it continues to astound me that CBS Sports, which is supposed to be playing at the highest level of TV sports coverage, misses as many plays and images as it does" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 12/11).
JUST ANOTHER TALKING HEAD: In N.Y., Bob Raissman asked if anyone was surprised Fox has "turned Mike Pereira into a game show host?" The net and Pereira are "more concerned about how many of his booth review predictions are correct. Or how he stacks up against certain officials." Raissman: "Instead of clarifying some of these rulings, Pereira makes them more confusing. Was that what the Foxies had in mind when they hired him?" (NYDAILYNEWS.com, 12/11).
INSIDE THE DECISION NOT TO FLEX PATS-BRONCOS: SI.com's Peter King reports NBC "had a couple of good arguments" for wanting next week's Patriots-Broncos game to be flexed to primetime. The Broncos "had played its way into prime time, and Denver owner Pat Bowlen, a member of the NFL's Broadcast Committee, agreed." Bowlen "wanted the game in prime time," as the Patriots are a "big ratings attraction for NBC, and when the league flexed out of the New England-Indianapolis game a few weeks ago (understandably, obviously), NBC lost one of its two New England availabilities." Also, putting the game on CBS "would mean it wouldn't be a national game." Meanwhile, CBS "wanted to keep the game because of the Tebow factor and made its case to keep the game." King: "I can tell you this: The NFL would have moved Denver-New England to prime time if Jacksonville beat San Diego last Monday. There was still some internal debate to be had when San Diego won the game, but the NFL decided it couldn't justify taking the game from CBS. Flex scheduling was designed with this primary objective -- to avoid a dog game. Baltimore-San Diego's not a dog at all. It's not Tebowmania, but those are the breaks" (SI.com, 12/12). In Boston, Greg Bedard wrote he doubts Patriots Owner Robert Kraft "demanded the Patriots-Broncos game Dec. 18 stay at 4:15pm instead of being flexed to Sunday night." However, Kraft "certainly made his opinion known, and it's a very influential one at that" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/11).
