NBC led all NFL Week 17 telecasts with a 14.8 overnight rating for the Vikings' 20-13 win over the Packers last night to secure the NFC North title. That figure is up 17% from a 12.7 overnight for the Bengals-Steelers "SNF" finale last season, which decided the AFC North. The 14.8 is the fourth-best "SNF" finale overnight for NBC in 10 years. Minneapolis-St. Paul drew a 52.4 local rating, while Milwaukee drew a 51.2 rating. Meanwhile, Fox led all afternoon windows yesterday with a 14.0 overnight in the 4:30pm ET national window, which featured Seahawks-Cardinals. That figure is down 17% from a 16.9 for a window featuring Lions-Packers last year. Fox also saw a 17% drop for its regional window at 1:00pm. The Fox regional window was up against CBS' national window, which featured Jets-Bills. That drew a 12.8 overnight, up 19% from CBS' national window featuring Chargers-Chiefs last season. CBS also drew an 11.1 overnight for its regional window at 4:30pm, which featured the Broncos securing the top spot in the AFC with a win over the Chargers. That figure is the net's best Week 17 regional window since the format of Week 17 doubleheaders for Fox and CBS began in '06 (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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NFL WEEK 17 OVERNIGHT RATINGS
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NET
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'15 TELECAST
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RAT.
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'14 TELECAST
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RAT.
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% +/-
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Fox
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(regional)
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8.7
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(regional)
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10.5
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-17.1%
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CBS
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(regional)
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11.1
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(regional)
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6.7
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65.7%
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Fox
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Seahawks-Cardinals (51%)
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14.0
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Lions-Packers (87%)
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16.9
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-17.2%
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CBS
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Jets-Bills (54%)
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12.8
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Chargers-Chiefs (65%)
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10.8
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18.5%
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NBC
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Vikings-Packers
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14.8
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Bengals-Steelers
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12.7
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16.5%
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MOTOR CITY MADHOUSE: The DETROIT NEWS notes in a "decidedly unfunny Lions-Bears pregame bit, the 'NFL on Fox' had actor/comedian Rob Riggle present a video 'paying our respects to what was lost'" in '15. Among the things "'lost' in this 'in-memoriam package' was the city of Detroit, depicted in the video with an image of burned-out buildings." The Detroit News: "Wow -- that's funny, Fox Sports! And original! And completely accurate! Well done!" (
DETROIT NEWS, 1/4). In Detroit, Brian Manzullo writes, "We're not sure what context Fox was going for in including Detroit in this segment, other than perhaps taking another cheap shot at a city that's been the butt of national jokes the past several years because of bankruptcy and high crime rates" (
DETROIT FREE PRESS, 1/4).
TWO THUMBS UP: In Baltimore, David Zurawik wrote the Fox broadcast team of Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis and Tony Siragusa "gave viewers a good half of telecast" for yesterday's Ravens-Bengals game, but they "got a little goofy and almost as sloppy as the play on the field in the second half." Zurawik wrote the three-man crew "became one of my favorites this year" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 1/3). The AP's Barry Wilner once again named ESPN's Mike Tirico his best NFL play-by-play announcer. Wilner: "We're renaming this the Mike Tirico Award. ESPN's lead man wins it every year and deserves it again this season, so we'll simply recognize him by making that change. So the recipient of the first Mike Tirico Award is Kevin Harlan of CBS and also Westwood One for Monday night radiocasts." No one "provides more detailed and accurate descriptions of the action or has calls that flow with the stream of play than Harlan." He is "never disruptive," and is "equally as good on TV or radio." Wilner's runner-up was CBS' Ian Eagle, whose "best work comes on TV." Wilner tapped CBS' Dan Fouts as his best TV analyst, as he is "insightful, a bit irreverent and always on the mark." His runner-up analyst was CBS' Rich Gannon. Wilner: "CBS has something of a monopoly here. One of the best things about Gannon is he doesn't pull punches, but he doesn't throw them indiscriminately" (AP, 1/2).
