The audience for NFL game windows during the ’15 season was a success on the whole. Each Sunday partner (NBC, CBS, Fox) was up from ’14, as well as the Thursday night package across CBS and NFL Network. ESPN looks to be the only NFL partner with a decline for game viewership, down for the second straight season for its "MNF" games.
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NFL REGULAR-SEASON GAME VIEWERSHIP
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NETWORK
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'15 (000)
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'14 (000)
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'13 (000)
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'12 (000)
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'11 (000)
|
|
NBC
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22,522
|
21,275
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21,747
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21,463
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21,542
|
|
Fox
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20,745
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20,728
|
21,200
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19,700
|
20,096
|
|
CBS
|
19,100
|
18,629
|
18,700
|
17,700
|
18,400
|
|
ESPN
|
12,896
|
13,349
|
13,679
|
12,826
|
13,252
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|
CBS/NFL Network
|
12,425
|
11,795
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7,055
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6,352
|
6,188
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|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
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CHART NOTES: Figures for NBC include "SNF," NFL Kickoff, Thanksgiving primetime. Last season, Fox had one lone 9:30am ET window for a London game. Figures for CBS/NFL Network are for eight games on CBS, with simulcast on NFL Net, along with eight games airing solely on NFL Net. Two of those NFL Net-only games were on a Saturday night.
THE WEEKEND’S END: NBC set new records in ’15 for its NFL package. The net averaged 22.5 million viewers for all games (“SNF,” Thanksgiving, NFL Kickoff), marking the best NFL primetime package in 19 years, dating back to 22.7 million viewers for ABC’s “MNF” games in ’96. The net dominated fellow primetime TV shows in the fall, finished 38% higher than “NCIS” and 43% higher than “The Big Bang Theory.” “SNF” projects to be the No. 1 show for all of primetime TV for the fifth straight year (’15-16 TV season). When NBC began the “SNF” package, it finished the ’06-07 TV season ranked No. 9 among all primetime shows. Denver was the top market for “SNF” telecasts, averaging a 21.9 local rating for all games on NBC. That mark was helped by the net airing three Broncos games.
ALL DAY LONG: Fox finished the season averaging 20.7 million viewers for all NFL windows, marking the net’s second-best NFL season since acquiring rights in ’94. The ’15 season is behind only 21.2 million viewers in ’13. Fox’ Sunday national windows also averaged 26.8 million viewers, down slightly from 26.9 million last year, but still high enough to be the most-watched program on all of TV for the seventh straight year. Meanwhile, CBS finished with 19.1 million viewers for its non-“TNF” windows, marking the best figure on record for any network holding the traditional AFC package (dating back to ’87). CBS’ figure was up 3% from ’14. The net’s Sunday national windows averaged 24.5 million viewers, down from 24.9 million viewers last year. Both Fox and CBS had one Sunday morning game this season for a game in London; only Fox had a game last season. Fox’ Lions-Chiefs game in the 9:30am ET window on Nov. 1 drew 8.4 million viewers, while CBS’ Jets-Dolphins drew 9.9 million viewers on Oct. 4. Last year, Fox drew 9.5 million viewers in Week 8 for Lions-Falcons, which was the first lone London window.
STARTING THE WEEK OFF RIGHT: This past season marked the second effort of a split Thursday night package. CBS aired eight games, which were simulcast on NFL Net. The other eight games of the package, which included two games on a Saturday night, aired exclusively on NFL Net. Looking across those 16 games, CBS and NFL Net averaged 12.4 million viewers, up 5% from last season and a record for the “TNF” package. When NFL Net aired all “TNF” games itself in ’13, the net averaged only 7.1 million viewers.
CASE OF THE MONDAYS: ESPN finished with 12.9 million viewers for its Monday night games, down 3% from last year and down 6% from ’13. The high mark for “MNF” on ESPN remains the ’10 season, when the net drew 14.7 million viewers. This will also be the second straight season that “MNF” fell behind AMC’s “The Walking Dead” as the most-watched show on cable TV. “MNF” currently sits 6% behind “The Walking Dead” in viewership, but the AMC show still has eight episodes left in its sixth season.
THE SHOWS BEFORE THE SHOW: “Fox NFL Sunday” averaged 5.3 million viewers in ’15, marking its best figure since ’10. The 5.3 million viewers are up 8% from 4.9 million last season. This was the first season the show had another NFL lead-in, with “Fox NFL Kickoff” moving from FS1 to Fox. That show in the 11:00am-12:00pm window averaged 1.2 million viewers. Meanwhile, CBS’ “The NFL Today” averaged 4.0 million viewers, up 5% from 3.8 million last season the show’s best average since CBS reacquired NFL rights in ’98. Leading into “SNF,” NBC’s “Football Night In America” averaged 8.7 million viewers in the 7:30-8:15pm window, marking the show’s second-best figure yet, behind only ’11. The 8.7 million viewers is up 7% from ’14. The audience for ESPN’s pregame shows was down in ’15. “Sunday NFL Countdown,” which was shortened to two hours this season and aired up against two London games, averaged 1.7 million viewers, down 11% from 1.9 million viewers for the three-hour show last season. The new “Sunday NFL Insiders” show from 10:00-11:00am on ESPN averaged 1.2 million viewers. ESPN’s “Monday Night Countdown” averaged just under 2.0 million viewers this season, down 5% from 2.1 million viewers in ’14.
