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NFL Wild Card Overnights: All Windows See Double-Digit Declines; Saints-Panthers Leads

The NFL’s broadcast partners saw double-digit declines in ratings for the four playoff openers over the weekend. Fox led all networks with a 20.4 rating for Saints-Panthers yesterday afternoon in the late window, down 15% from a 24.0 last year for Packers-Giants. Yesterday’s number is also down 14% from a 23.6 overnight in ’16 for Redskins-Packers. Meanwhile, CBS in the early window yesterday drew a 17.2 rating for the Jaguars’ 10-3 win over the Bills, down 10% from a 19.2 for Steelers-Dolphins in the same window last year. Jaguars-Bills peaked at a 21.5 rating between 4:00-4:15pm ET. On Saturday night, NBC drew a 14.9 overnight for the Falcons’ 26-13 win over the Rams in the opening NFC Wild Card. That number is down 10% from a 16.5 for Seahawks-Lions in the Saturday primetime matchup last year. Two years ago, CBS had the Saturday primetime matchup, drawing a 19.2 overnight for Steelers-Bengals. Falcons-Rams peaked at a 16.0 rating from 9:30-10:00pm. Finally, Saturday’s opening Titans-Chiefs AFC Wild Card on ESPN, with a simulcast on ABC, drew a 14.7 overnight rating, down 11% from a 16.6 last year for the opening Texans-Raiders telecast, which featured backup QBs starting for both teams. Two years ago, ESPN and ABC earned a 16.2 overnight for Chiefs-Texans. Saturday’s game peaked at an 18.4 overnight from 7:30-7:45pm (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).

STILL THE ONE: NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell yesterday touched on the declining regular-season ratings and said, "We always want ratings to go up, but we're 37 of the top 50 shows, which is higher than ever." Goodell: "We're likely to be the No. 1 show on Fox -- excuse me on all of television, the Fox Sunday afternoon game. Sunday night, prime time is for the seventh year in a row the No. 1 show. Thursday night football is No. 2. I think dominance of the NFL in television is still very clear" (ESPN.com, 1/7). In Tampa, Tom Jones writes the "narrative that the NFL isn’t popular anymore is just silly." It remains "wildly popular, and it’s still programming gold for television" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/8).

WE'RE HAVING A BABY! The TIMES' Jones writes the best sideline report over the weekend came from Fox' Erin Andrews, who noted at the start of the second half of the Panthers-Saints Wild Card game that the wife of Saints DT Tony McDaniel was "going into labor and that coach Sean Payton needed to tell him." It was "definitely a what-did-she-just-say moment." Andrews "followed up later with news that McDaniel’s wife wasn’t in labor but instead had a stomach bug." Jones: "Wild stuff" (TAMPA BAY TIMES, 1/8).

SOMETHING'S COOKING
: In N.Y., Bob Raissman cited sources as saying that NFL Network execs have been "checking out studio locations throughout Manhattan." Raissman: "Are they looking for expanded space to bring shows to NYC? Or looking for a new studio for 'Good Morning Football?'" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/7).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 25, 2024

NFL meeting preview; MLB's opening week ad effort and remembering Peter Angelos.

Big Get Jay Wright, March Madness is upon us and ESPN locks up CFP

On this week’s pod, our Big Get is CBS Sports college basketball analyst Jay Wright. The NCAA Championship-winning coach shares his insight with SBJ’s Austin Karp on key hoops issues and why being well dressed is an important part of his success. Also on the show, Poynter Institute senior writer Tom Jones shares who he has up and who is down in sports media. Later, SBJ’s Ben Portnoy talks the latest on ESPN’s CFP extension and who CBS, TNT Sports and ESPN need to make deep runs in the men’s and women's NCAA basketball tournaments.

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

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