NBC's Cowboys-Giants Opener Down Slightly From Last Year With DNC Competition

NBC earned a 16.5 overnight Nielsen rating for last night’s Cowboys-Giants NFL Kickoff game, down 4% from the Saints-Packers game last year, which earned a 17.2 overnight on a Thursday night. The telecast marks the fifth-best primetime NFL game on NBC despite competition last night from the Democratic National Convention. Compared to the Redskins-Giants matchup in ’08, which aired early (7:00pm ET) on a Thursday night to avoid head-to-head competition with John McCain’s acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, the 16.5 rating is up 63% from a 10.1 overnight.

NFL KICKOFF OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND
YEAR	MATCHUP	NET	OVERNIGHT
'12	Cowboys-Giants*	NBC	16.5
'11	Saints-Packers	NBC	17.2
'10	Vikings-Saints	NBC	17.7
'09	Titans-Steelers	NBC	13.8
'08	Redskins-Giants**	NBC	10.1
'07	Saints-Colts	NBC	13.0
'06	Dolphins-Steelers	NBC	13.5
'05	Raiders-Patriots	ABC	13.1
'04	Colts-Patriots	ABC	12.6
'03	Jets-Redskins	ABC	14.5
'02	49ers-Giants	ESPN	12.7

NOTES: * = Game aired on a Wednesday night due to DNC. ** = Game aired on a Thursday, but began at 7:00pm ET to accommodate RNC.