CBS led all NFL game ratings this weekend with a 15.9 overnight for its national window, which featured Steelers-Giants in 96% of markets. That figure could have been even higher, but figures from the N.Y. market continue to be excluded for all telecasts due to the effects from Hurricane Sandy. The 15.9 overnight is down from the national window on Fox in Week 9 last year, which featured Giants-Patriots in 55% of markets and Packers-Chargers in 36% of markets. CBS also earned an 11.6 rating for its regional window yesterday, up 20% from the same window last year. Meanwhile, NBC’s Cowboys-Falcons “SNF” telecast last night drew a 14.5 overnight, up 2% from Ravens-Steelers in Week 9 last year and the best Week 9 “SNF” overnight for the net to date. The game peaked at a 15.0 overnight in the 9:00pm ET half hour (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
MINIMAL VALUE: In Baltimore, David Zurawik writes he cannot remember "watching a football telecast and learning less than I did" from CBS' Marv Albert and Rich Gannon during yesterday’s Browns-Ravens game. Zurawik: “I can't think of anyone in any booth covering football, or baseball or basketball, for that matter, who seemed less interested in taking me inside the game than Gannon was with the Ravens.” Gannon “seemed to explain only about one out of every three penalties, and he rarely -- if ever -- showed why a play succeeded or failed.” However, Gannon “wasn't afraid to call a player out, and he did it well and often” with Browns QB Brandon Weeden (
Baltimore SUN, 11/5).
UNDER THE BIG TOP: SI's Richard Deitsch lists the NFL’s “best and worst announcing teams.” NBC’s Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth are named the best, as Michaels is a “fanatically prepared play-by-play maestro whose game calls are flawless." Collinsworth is “sensational at foreshadowing the action.” CBS’ Ian Eagle and Dan Fouts rank second. Eagle is a “terrific game caller with a big-game voice,” and Fouts has “long been underrated.” What makes them “so euphonious is how organically they infuse humor into their broadcast.” Fox' Dick Stockton and John Lynch are rated the worst announcing team. Stockton can be relied upon to be “late on a couple calls each game, and he’ll occasionally pass along an incorrect score." They are followed by Fox’ Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa. This trio “makes the list because of Siragusa, an endless chatterbox from his end zone reporting perch.” It is “too much shtick and too little substance” (
SI, 11/5 issue).
