ESPN on Monday wrapped its slate of NFL regular-season games, and Lions-Cowboys -- the net's lone Cowboys game this season -- helped ESPN avoid a new low for season-long "MNF" viewership. ESPN for its 17 telecasts in '16 averaged 11.39 million viewers, which is the lowest "MNF" figure since '07, when the net averaged 11.23 million viewers. This year's average, hit by election coverage and weak matchups, is down 12% from last season. The 18.6 million viewers for Lions-Cowboys marks the best "MNF" game since Redskins-Cowboys in Week 8 of the '14 season (18.8 million viewers). It also is ESPN's best "MNF" season finale since Saints-Falcons drew 19.1 million viewers in '10.
HOLIDAY GIFT EXCHANGE: With Christmas falling on a Sunday this year, the NFL for the first time since '11 moved the majority of its Week 16 games to a Saturday, and the change obviously dealt a blow to normal audience levels. The 1:00-7:45pm ET window on Saturday saw 14% fewer homes watching TV compared to the same Week 16 Sunday last year. The schedule even prompted Fox to move its national window to the 1:00pm ET window instead of the normal 4:30pm ET, as there were 3% more homes watching TV in that early window compared to later in the day. Among the Saturday windows, Fox' coverage at 1:00pm, which featured Vikings-Packers, led the way with 18.4 million viewers. That figure was down 36% from the comparable Sunday late afternoon window last year. Fox' regionalized coverage in the 4:30pm window drew 15.4 million viewers, down 13% compared to the early window in Week 16 last year. Fox' coverage in Week 16 also featured no matchups between winning teams. On CBS, singleheader coverage on Saturday drew 14.2 million viewers for a five-game slate, down 25% from last year. Meanwhile, NBC on Christmas Eve benefited from some larger group viewing to see a boost for "SNF." Broncos-Chiefs drew 21.4 million viewers, up from 17.9 million viewers for Giants-Vikings in Week 16 last year.
WHERE DO WE STAND: Headed into Week 17, Fox is averaging 19.4 million viewers for all NFL game telecasts, down 7%. CBS is averaging 19.1 million viewers, down 6%, while NBC's "SNF" package is averaging 22.4 million viewers, down 10% (excludes any "TNF," but includes Thanksgiving, NFL Kickoff).
The chart below lists audience figures for select recent sports telecasts.
| TELECAST |
DATE
|
NET
|
TIME (ET)
|
RAT.
|
VIEWERS
(000)
|
| "SNF": Broncos-Chiefs |
12/25
|
NBC
|
8:31-11:28pm
|
10.6
|
21,413
|
NFL nat'l window:
Vikings-Packers (71%)* |
12/24
|
Fox
|
1:00-4:15pm
|
10.0
|
18,397
|
| "TNF": Giants-Eagles |
12/22
|
NBC/
NFL Net
|
8:27-11:38pm
|
10.6
|
17,945
|
| NFL: (regional)* |
12/24
|
Fox
|
4:15-7:30pm
|
8.1
|
15,441
|
| NFL Ravens-Steelers* |
12/25
|
NFL Net
|
4:30-7:33pm
|
6.5
|
14,772
|
| NFL: (singleheader)* |
12/24
|
CBS
|
1:00-4:05pm
|
7.7
|
14,191
|
| "MNF": Panthers-Redskins |
12/19
|
ESPN
|
8:15pm-12:04am
|
6.8
|
11,214
|
| NBA: Cavaliers-Warriors |
12/25
|
ABC
|
2:28-5:18pm
|
4.9
|
10,143
|
| "Football Night in America" |
12/25
|
NBC
|
7:30-8:22pm
|
4.9
|
9,909
|
| NFL: Bengals-Texans* |
12/24
|
NFL Net
|
8:26-11:10pm
|
3.2
|
6,278
|
| NBA: Bulls-Spurs |
12/25
|
ABC
|
5:18-7:44pm
|
2.8
|
5,465
|
| "Thursday Night Football Prekick" |
12/25
|
NFL Net
|
4:00-4:30pm
|
2.2
|
4,726
|
| UFC 206 (repeat) |
12/24
|
Fox
|
8:00-10:00pm
|
2.6
|
4,720
|
| "Fox NFL Sunday" |
12/24
|
Fox
|
12:00-1:00pm
|
2.8
|
4,634
|
| NBA: Celtics-Knicks |
12/25
|
ESPN
|
12:00-2:38pm
|
2.0
|
3,687
|
Liga MX: Apertura Final:
Tigres UANL-Club America: Leg 2 |
12/25
|
Univision
|
7:00-10:41pm
|
1.3
|
3,057
|
| "The NFL Today" |
12/24
|
CBS
|
12:00-1:00pm
|
1.7
|
2,812
|
| College basketball: Kentucky-Louisville |
12/21
|
ESPN
|
7:00-9:16pm
|
1.7
|
2,717
|
| "A Football Life: Chuck Noll" |
12/25
|
NFL Net
|
8:00-9:00pm
|
n/a
|
2,715
|
| Dollar General Bowl: Troy-Ohio |
12/23
|
ESPN
|
8:10-11:33pm
|
n/a
|
2,513
|
San Diego County Credit Union
Poinsettia Bowl: BYU-Wyoming |
12/21
|
ESPN
|
9:16pm-12:31am
|
n/a
|
2,381
|
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl:
Lousiana Tech-Navy |
12/23
|
ESPN
|
4:30-8:10pm
|
n/a
|
2,342
|
| "World's Strongest Man" |
12/25
|
CBS
|
3:00-4:00pm
|
0.9
|
1,667
|
| Lucas Oil Challenge Cup (taped) |
12/24
|
CBS
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
1.0
|
1,611
|
| "Fox NFL Kickoff" |
12/24
|
Fox
|
11:00am-12:00pm
|
1.0
|
1,585
|
| "Holiday Homecoming with Jewel" |
12/25
|
CBS
|
1:00-2:00pm
|
0.9
|
1,317
|
| "World's Toughest Mudder" |
12/25
|
CBS
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.7
|
1,273
|
| "MVP Superstars & Their Dogs" |
12/25
|
CBS
|
4:00-5:00pm
|
0.7
|
1,154
|
| Spartan Race (taped) |
12/25
|
NBC
|
5:00-6:00pm
|
0.6
|
1,098
|
| Nitro Circus (taped) |
12/25
|
NBC
|
3:30-5:00pm
|
0.4
|
802
|
| "PGA Tour Special: Must See Moments" |
12/25
|
NBC
|
2:30-3:30pm
|
0.4.
|
663
|
| Dew Tour: Breckenridge (taped) |
12/24
|
NBC
|
4:30-6:00pm
|
0.4
|
624
|
"World of X Games:
WSL Maui Womens Pro" |
12/24
|
ABC
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.4
|
559
|
| Red Bull Signature Series (taped) |
12/24
|
NBC
|
3:00-4:30pm
|
0.3
|
524
|
| Equestrian: Rolex Grand Prix (taped) |
12/24
|
NBC
|
2:00-3:00pm
|
0.4
|
504
|
NOTES: The majority of NFL games aired on Saturday in Week 16 due to Christmas falling on Sunday. Fox also promoted its 1:00pm coverage as the national window. * = Part of NFL Network's "TNF" package.
