ESPN earned a 10.8 overnight Nielsen rating for last night's Steelers-49ers "MNF" telecast from 8:45pm-12:30am ET, flat compared to the Bears-Vikings game in Week 15 last year. The telecast started 15 minutes later than normal due to a power outage at Candlestick Park. There was also a second power outage during the second quarter, causing the game to run late. In Pittsburgh, the game earned a 15.6 local rating on ESPN and a 28.6 rating on WTAE-ABC. In S.F.-Oakland-San Jose, the game earned an 11.4 local rating on ESPN and a 16.8 rating on KPIX-CBS (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
THE NIGHT THAT THE LIGHTS WENT OUT IN SAN FRAN: ESPN’s Chris Berman last night said while informing viewers of the delay due to the power outage, “Power out at Candlestick Park, just a couple moments ago, looks to be a transformer. Obviously they have auxiliary power but obviously they are not ready to play football right now. Certainly bringing back eerie memories. ... I can speak for those of us who were in the stadium in 1989 for the earthquake when the Giants were playing the A’s.” Berman quickly assured the audience, “Again, there’s not been an earthquake, this just happened.” ESPN’s Mike Tirico, who called the game from Candlestick, called in via phone and reassured the audience that “we heard or felt no shaking or anything like that” ("Steelers-49ers," ESPN, 12/19). Toronto's CJCL-AM's Greg Brady wrote on his Twitter feed, "Just me, or was Chris Berman absolutely struggling filling time there, with loads to talk about? Wow. Stumbling/bumbling..." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Dejan Kovacevic wrote, "There are roughly 70,000 people in here and, from what I gather from your tweets, the only one freaking out is Chris Berman." The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review's Joe Starkey wrote, "Why is Berman talking like tragedy has struck? the freakin lights went out." The South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Mike Berardino wrote, "Why on earth is Chris Berman referencing the '89 earthquake so much? It's just a blown transformer." The Chicago Tribune's Paul Sullivan wrote, "Nightmare scenario: Chris Berman droning on and on about the SF earthquake while filling time during power outage." Former Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's Colin Dunlap wrote, "Berman really trying to compare power outage to the earthquake. I spilled a drop of gas whilst filling up my car; thought Exxon Valdez."
THE MORNING AFTER: The power outages were mentioned on all three network morning shows today. CBS' “The Early Show” began its broadcast with headlines, one of which began with CBS’ Chris Wragge saying, “Are you ready for some darkness? 'Monday Night Football' held up twice as the lights go out on the Steelers and the 49ers last night” (“The Early Show,” CBS, 12/20). ABC's "GMA" also began its show with a “MNF” headline entitled “Blackout!” ABC’s Robin Roberts said, “Blackout! The moment a transformer exploded plunging 70,000 people into darkness at Candlestick Park.” ABC’s Josh Elliott later did a more detailed story on the blackout, including footage from the '89 World Series as well as reporting S.F. police "reported just before kickoff they received a phone threat of a possible bomb on site” (“GMA,” ABC, 12/20). NBC's "Today" first mentioned the blackout 18 minutes into the broadcast, when guest anchor Carl Quintanilla joked, “I keep thinking about the Journey song, ‘When the Lights Go Down in the City.’ Isn’t that about San Francisco?” (“Today,” NBC, 12/20).
RATINGS REFLECT TEBOW-MANIA: CBS finished with a 17.6 rating and 29.7 million viewers for its NFL national window on Sunday, which featured Patriots-Broncos. That rating is tied with Fox' national window in Week 13 (Packers-Giants) as the highest-rated NFL game this season and the highest-rated game since CBS' Week 14 national window in '07 (18.4 rating), which featured Steelers-Patriots (Karp). In Orlando, Hal Boedeker noted Sunday's big TV numbers "reflect the fascination with" Broncos QB Tim Tebow. The matchup "was a huge winner in the ratings as it ran 34 minute into prime time." Early ratings "show CBS averaged 15.9 million viewers in prime time to NBC's 11.8 million." The 7:00pm ET half-hour in the Orlando market "had 517,000 viewers, and the game averaged 480,000 from 4:30 to 7:30." Boedeker noted it was the "most-watched NFL game" in the Orlando market so far this season (ORLANDOSENTINEL.com, 12/19). In Boston, Chad Finn noted the game "pulled a 40.6 rating" in the Denver market, while in the Boston market it "earned a 42 overnight rating" (BOSTON.com, 12/19). In West Palm Beach, Greg Stoda noted the game earned the "second-best numbers for an NFL game on CBS in 13 years." The number for WPEC-CBS in West Palm Beach was "even better," earning a 22.8 local rating. Stoda noted that number is the "best of the year for an NFL game," and that Tebow, "not New England cover boy and superstar quarterback Tom Brady, made it happen" (PALMBEACHPOST.com, 12/19).
