Three of four Sunday NFL game windows saw overnight ratings decreases in Week 4. CBS led all telecasts with a 14.6 rating for its national window, which featured Colts-49ers. That figure is down 2% from Week 3 last year, when CBS featured Texans-Broncos. The net’s regional window saw a 33% drop, as last year’s window featured close games across the board. NBC earned a 13.5 overnight for the Bears-Steelers “SNF” telecast, beating out head-to-head competition from CBS’ “Primetime Emmys” telecast (12.1 rating). Bears-Steelers is down 6% from Patriots-Ravens in Week 3 last year, which also went up against the Emmys. Last night’s game earned a 39.9 local rating in Pittsburgh and a 36.2 rating in Chicago. Fox was the only Week 3 window to see a gain, with singleheader coverage up 9% (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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NFL WEEK 3 OVERNIGHT NIELSEN RATINGS
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NET
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'13 GAME
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RAT.
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'12 GAME
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RAT.
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% +/-
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Fox
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(single)
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13.3
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(single)
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12.2
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9.0%
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CBS
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(regional)
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7.7
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(regional)
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11.4
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-32.5%
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CBS
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Colts-49ers (81%)
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14.6
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Texans-Broncos (64%)
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14.9
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-2.0%
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NBC
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Bears-Steelers
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13.5
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Patriots-Ravens
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14.3
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-5.6%
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|
|
|
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THE BAND IS ON THE FIELD: USA TODAY
notes
Fox sideline reporter Pam Oliver, after
suffering a concussion during the preseason, was "nearly run over Sunday by the Ohio State marching band" prior to Packers-Bengals. Oliver was "doing a live stand-up when the band marched in her direction." A trumpeter "almost mowed down Oliver, then a trombone slide almost got her" (
USA TODAY, 9/23). SI.com's Richard Deitsch writes Oliver "always impressively keeps her cool amid chaos, and she did it again" yesterday. Oliver also deserves "props" for not "doing a butt-smooching interview" with Packers QB Aaron Rodgers (
SI.com, 9/23).
ANCHOR AWAY: In Tampa, Tom Jones notes ESPN's Chris Berman missed yesterday's edition of "Sunday NFL Countdown" because he was "tending to his ill father." Trey Wingo "replaced him and, not surprisingly, did an outstanding job." Jones: "We now know who will be the logical replacement for Berman, although don't expect Berman to leave that anchor chair any time soon" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 9/23).
THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes Fox had a "good get" during the Giants-Panthers telecast when it aired "footage of pregame punts lost in the sun." This "could’ve been in-game applicable." Analyst Brian Billick also "had strong moments, especially questioning the wisdom of throwing end zone corner 'fades' toward" 5' 9" Panthers WR Steve Smith. But Fox "chose to fill another telecast with no-upside extra attention on show-boaters, even rewarding chest-pounders with slo-mos" (N.Y. POST, 9/23). Also in N.Y., Bob Raissman writes criticism of the Giants "extended far beyond physical or mental breakdowns" on Fox and the Giants' radio broadcast. Raissman: "The rips centered on effort and lack of heart." Billick and play-by-play man Thom Brennaman "dropped the hammer on the Giants early." Brennaman near the end of the second quarter called the Giants offensive line’s performance “an unmitigated disaster.” Billick said, "The body language, the mentality, the emotion of the game is just not there for the Giants." Raissman notes there also were "multiple close-ups of hollow-eyed Giants sitting quietly on the bench. Anger took a holiday" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 9/23).
REID OPTION: NFL Network finished with a 6.0 rating and 9.4 million viewers for the Eagles-Chiefs "Thursday Night Football" game last week, marking the highest-rated game telecast ever on the net. The previous high was a 5.7 rating for a Cowboys-Saints Saturday night matchup in December '09. The game also was the fourth-best game viewership in the net's history, behind 49ers-Ravens in '11 (10.7 million), '09 Cowboys-Saints (10.5 million) and and Packers-Cowboys in '07 (10.1 million). Chiefs-Eagles also was the most-watched program for the night across all of TV (NFL).
