Fox’ NFL national window led all Week 16 telecasts, earning a 14.7 overnight Nielsen rating on Saturday for coverage featuring Eagles-Cowboys in 88% of markets. That figure is down 6% from a 15.6 overnight the net’s Week 16 national window last year, which featured Giants-Packers. The NFL’s broadcast partners on Saturday afternoon also saw HUT levels (houses using televisions) down 16% compared to the Sunday of Week 16 last year. Fox did see a gain for its regional coverage in the early window, up 4.5%. CBS singleheader on Saturday earned an 8.8 overnight, down 43%. On Sunday night, NBC’s Bears-Packers “SNF” matchup earned a 12.6 overnight. That figure is up slightly from a 12.5 rating for Eagles-Cowboys in ’06, which was the last time an NFL game aired on Christmas night. The comparable NBC Week 16 game last season (Vikings-Eagles) aired on a Tuesday night due to a snow postponement. Milwaukee topped all markets for the “SNF” telecast with a 45.8 local rating, followed by Chicago with a 29.2 rating. Last night's "MNF" finale on ESPN earned a 9.5 overnight rating for the Falcons-Saints matchup, down nearly 22% from the same matchup last year. In New Orleans, the game earned a 16.0 local rating on ESPN and a 41.4 rating on WDSU-NBC. In Atlanta, the game earned a 12.7 rating on ESPN and a 15.2 rating on WSB-ABC (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
| NFL WEEK 16 OVERNIGHT NIELSEN RATINGS |
| NET | '11 GAME | RAT. | '10 GAME | RAT. | % +/- |
| CBS | (single) | 8.8 | (single) | 15.4 | -42.9% |
| Fox | (regional) | 9.2 | (regional) | 8.8 | 4.5% |
| Fox | Eagles-Cowboys (88%) | 14.7 | Giants-Packers (90%) | 15.6 | -5.8% |
| NBC | Bears-Packers | 12.6 | Vikings-Eagles* | n/a | n/a |
| ESPN | Falcons-Saints | 9.5 | Saints-Falcons | 12.1 | -21.5% |
| | | | | | |
CHART NOTE: * = NBC's "SNF" game aired on a Tuesday night due to a snowstorm in Philadelphia
READY FOR PRIMETIME PLAYERS: On Long Island, Neil Best reported the Cowboys and Giants on Sunday will "meet in prime time for the second time this season" after the NFL flexed the game to NBC. It marks the first time both games from a divisional rivalry will be played in primetime. If the Chiefs "had defeated the Raiders Saturday ... the Week 17 finale likely would have been Chiefs at Broncos," as the winner of that game would claim the AFC West title. However, the league "was left with Giants-Cowboys as the only division title showdown unaffected by earlier games." It is "bad news for Fox, which would have generated a huge late-afternoon rating for the game" (NEWSDAY.com, 12/26). SI.com's Peter King noted the NFL "would have preferred to not take the second Giants-Cowboys game and give it to NBC," but the league "wants to play all Week 17 games in which division races or Wild Card spots are on the line at the same time." Cowboys-Giants was moved "because it was the only true win-and-you're-in game, whenever it was played, with no other game having any bearing on the outcome of the NFC East." King: "That won't make Fox and happier, but it's a fact of NFL TV life." Fox has broadcast just two of the Cowboys' six NFC East games this year (SI.com, 12/26).
THE GOOSE IS LOOSE: In N.Y., Bob Raissman wrote Fox' Tony Siragusa was "all business on Sunday" calling the Giants-Jets game, and his analysis "was first-rate." He began "early, like on the second drive of the first quarter, taking the Giants offensive line to task: 'They look like they can't fire off the ball.'" Fox analyst Daryl Johnston "was equally strong, especially in the fourth quarter with his pointed criticism of [Jets QB Mark] Sanchez's poor decision-making and [Jets offensive coordinator] Brian Schottenheimer's playcalling" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/25).
