CBS and NBC had strong Sunday ratings for Week 15 NFL windows yesterday. CBS led all telecasts with a 15.8 overnight for its national window, which featured Patriots-Broncos in 83% of markets. That marks CBS' best figure this season. The 15.8 is down slightly in the overnights compared to a 15.9 for the same window in Week 15 last year, which featured Steelers-Broncos. In CBS' early regional coverage, a window primarily featuring Steelers-Bengals, Titans-Chiefs and Colts-Vikings drew an 11.0 overnight, up 39% from the comparable window last year. Meanwhile, NBC last night drew a 15.3 overnight for Buccaneers-Cowboys, marking the net's third-best NFL overnight of the season, behind only a 16.5 for both the Panthers-Broncos NFL Kickoff game and Cowboys-Giants "SNF" game last week. Bucs-Cowboys is up 31% from Cardinals-Eagles in the same window last year. Dallas-Ft. Worth led all markets with a 40.6 local rating. Rounding out the top five markets were San Antonio (27.7), Austin (25.3), Albuquerque-Santa Fe (24.6) and Richmond (23.3). The Tampa-St. Pete market drew a 23.0 local rating to rank tied for sixth. A figure for Fox' singleheader window yesterday was unavailable at presstime (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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NFL WEEK 15 SUNDAY OVERNIGHT RATINGS
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NET
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'16 TELECAST
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RAT.
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'15 TELECAST
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RAT.
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% +/-
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Fox
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(single)
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11.7
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(single)
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15.3
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-23.5%
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CBS
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(regional)
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11.0
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(regional)
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7.9
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39.2%
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CBS
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Patriots-Broncos (83%)
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15.8
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Steelers-Broncos (86%)
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15.9
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-0.6%
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NBC
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Buccaneers-Cowboys
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15.3
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Cardinals-Eagles
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11.7
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30.8%
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HIGH FLYING 'BOYS: In Ft. Worth, Jeff Caplan wrote the Cowboys are the "gold standard of TV ratings in the NFL," and this year's team is "blowing up" the league's ratings. Going into last night's game, five of the top six "most-watched NFL games this year have involved the Cowboys." The Cowboys have "played in the most-watched game in seven of this season’s first 14 weeks," and five times they played in the "second most-watched game." Cowboys games twice measured as the only game of that week in any time slot to attract more viewers than the same week the previous season" (
FT. WORTH STAR-TELEGRAM, 12/17).
NOT FEELING IT: In Baltimore, David Zurawik writes Fox' Kenny Albert during the Ravens' 27-26 win over the Eagles sounded like he was "calling a 30-point blowout between two teams that have no chance at the postseason." Zurawik wondered if that is because Fox "doesn’t have AFC TV rights, and Albert doesn’t care so much about what was at stake for the Ravens?" Zurawik: "By the end of the game, I was screaming for someone in management at Fox to get in Albert’s ear and wake him the hell up. ... The maddening thing is that the rest of the telecast was good" (Baltimore SUN, 12/19).
PARDON THE INTERRUPTION: In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes Fox' Joe Buck delivered some "strong stuff" during Lions-Giants. He ridiculed the "state of the NFL that would have the first quarter end to a commercial break, then return to start the second quarter, only to have Giants coach Ben McAdoo throw a challenge flag as per the last play of the first quarter, sending us back to commercials" (N.Y. POST, 12/19). Meanwhile, in Boston, Chad Finn writes CBS' broadcast of Patriots-Broncos had "very sensitive field microphones, especially on kick and punt coverage for some reason." Hopefully not "too many sensitive ears were offend[ed] by the revelation that NFL players know lots of swear words and dispense them frequently and creatively" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/19).
GET WELL SOON: In New Orleans, Christopher Dabe notes Saints radio broadcaster Jim Henderson "did not call" Saints-Cardinals yesterday after he "came down with laryngitis." Saints sideline reporter Kristian Garic "handled play-by-play duties in place of Henderson, with Deuce McAllister providing the color analysis." Henderson has called Saints games since '86 (New Orleans TIMES-PICAYUNE, 12/19).
