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NFL Delivers Another Strong Season For TV Partners; Cowboys-Skins Tops Most-Viewed
Published January 4, 2013
NFL TV partners continued strong viewership for their respective game telecasts during the ’12 season, particularly against other TV competition. NFL games accounted for 31 of the 32 most-viewed TV shows during the fall. For the first time ever, an NFL game was the week’s most-watched TV show in all 17 weeks of the regular season. Locally, an NFL game was the highest-rated show in NFL markets a record 93% of the time. Fox finished the ’12 regular season with an 11.8 rating and 19.7 million viewers for all of its game telecasts, marking the net’s third-best NFL audience since it began airing the NFL in ‘94. The net's audience was off 2% from last season. During the last four years, Fox has seen its four most-viewed NFL seasons on record. For nine Sunday national windows, Fox averaged a 14.8 rating and 24.8 million viewers, making it the most-viewed program on TV and No. 1 among all key adult and male demos. Meanwhile, CBS averaged 17.7 million viewers for its package of regular-season games this season. The net's average was down 4% from 18.4 million viewers last season, which was its second-best audience for the AFC package in 24 years.
ALL NIGHT LONG: NBC’s “SNF” finished the fall as the No. 1 show in primetime, and remains on pace to be the No. 1 primetime show for the entire season for the second straight year. “SNF” averaged a 12.8 rating and 21.4 million viewers for its 19 games, down slightly from a 12.9 rating and 21.5 million viewers last season. This season’s figures remain good enough for the third best “SNF” audience since NBC acquired the package prior to the ’06 season. “SNF” was the No. 1 primetime program in the fall among all key adult and male demos, while also ranking as the No. 2 show for women 18-34 and No. 3 among women 18-49. Milwaukee was the top market for “SNF” telecasts with a 22.1 local rating (Packers appeared three times). New Orleans ranked second (20.9) and Las Vegas (18.9) ranked third. On cable, ESPN’s “MNF” was the most-viewed cable series for the seventh straight year, while NFL Network had another record-setting year as its package grew to 13 games.
TOP GAMES: Despite finishing with an 8-8 record, the Cowboys remained a top draw for the NFL, with the team playing in four of the 10 most-viewed games this season. The arrival of QB Robert Griffin III added some fuel to the Redskins-Cowboys NFC East rivalry, with the teams' two matchups taking the top spots among the season's most-watched games. For the second straight year, NBC finished the season with the NFC East finale, and the Dec. 30 Cowboys-Redskins game marked the net’s most-viewed NFL regular-season primetime game ever. Additionally, the game’s 17.0 rating and 30.3 million viewers marked the most-watched NFL regular-season primetime game on any net in 16 years and the most-watched NFL game in any window this season. The Dec. 30 telecast also marked the best Cowboys-Redskins audience in 19 years. Meanwhile, Fox' Week 17 national window, which featured Packers-Vikings, posted a 15.3 rating and 26.4 million viewers, marking the net’s best Week 17 audience in 17 years.
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ALL NIGHT LONG: NBC’s “SNF” finished the fall as the No. 1 show in primetime, and remains on pace to be the No. 1 primetime show for the entire season for the second straight year. “SNF” averaged a 12.8 rating and 21.4 million viewers for its 19 games, down slightly from a 12.9 rating and 21.5 million viewers last season. This season’s figures remain good enough for the third best “SNF” audience since NBC acquired the package prior to the ’06 season. “SNF” was the No. 1 primetime program in the fall among all key adult and male demos, while also ranking as the No. 2 show for women 18-34 and No. 3 among women 18-49. Milwaukee was the top market for “SNF” telecasts with a 22.1 local rating (Packers appeared three times). New Orleans ranked second (20.9) and Las Vegas (18.9) ranked third. On cable, ESPN’s “MNF” was the most-viewed cable series for the seventh straight year, while NFL Network had another record-setting year as its package grew to 13 games.
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NFL REGULAR-SEASON AUDIENCE TREND
|
|||||
|
NETWORK
|
'12 (000)
|
'11 (000)
|
'10 (000)
|
'09 (000)
|
'08 (000)
|
|
NBC
|
21,463
|
21,542
|
21,848
|
19,418
|
16,638
|
|
Fox
|
19,700
|
20,096
|
20,110
|
19,097
|
16,992
|
|
CBS
|
17,700
|
18,400
|
18,747
|
17,211
|
16,211
|
|
ESPN
|
12,826
|
13,252
|
14,657
|
14,382
|
11,962
|
|
NFL Network
|
6,352
|
6,188
|
5,705
|
5,548
|
3,738
|
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MOST-VIEWED '12 NFL REGULAR-SEASON GAMES
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|||||
|
RK
|
DATE
|
NET
|
GAME |
RAT.
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
|
1
|
12/30
|
NBC
|
"SNF": Cowboys-Redskins |
17.0
|
30,281
|
|
2
|
11/22
|
Fox
|
Thanksgiving: Redskins-Cowboys |
13.5
|
28,700
|
|
3
|
9/9
|
NBC
|
"SNF": Steelers-Broncos |
16.5
|
27,567
|
|
4
|
11/22
|
CBS
|
Thanksgiving: Texans-Lions |
13.9
|
27,336
|
|
5
|
10/28
|
Fox
|
Giants-Cowboys (98%) |
16.0
|
26,938
|
|
6
|
12/16
|
CBS
|
Steelers-Cowboys (90%) |
16.2
|
26,902
|
|
7
|
12/30
|
Fox
|
Packers-Vikings (82%) |
15.3
|
26,393
|
|
8
|
9/9
|
Fox
|
49ers-Packers (87%) |
15.4
|
26,372
|
|
9
|
11/25
|
Fox
|
49ers-Saints (93%) |
15.0
|
24,851
|
|
10
|
10/7
|
CBS
|
Broncos-Patriots (81%) |
14.5
|
24,544
|
