ESPN, CBS Seeing Gains For NFL Game Coverage Through Week Three
Through the first three weeks of the '08 NFL season, ESPN's "MNF" on ESPN is averaging a 9.8 cable Nielsen rating for its four games, up 18.1% from a year ago, while also seeing a 26.6% jump in viewership. CBS, which has had the national window twice this season, is seeing a 5.0% jump in national ratings for its game telecasts. NBC leads all nets with an 11.0 rating for its primetime "Sunday Night Football" telecasts, but the net is still seeing a slight ratings dip, down 1.8% from a year ago. However, "SNF" is in fact seeing gains in viewership. Fox, which has had the Sunday afternoon national game only once, is off 4.2% in ratings. Fox' early window regional coverage in Week Three also lacked any games involving the Giants, Cowboys, Packers or Eagles. The following lists NFL game telecast averages through Week Three, with comparisons to the same period last season.
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NFL GAME COVERAGE: AVERAGES THROUGH WEEK THREE
|
|
NET
|
GMS
|
RAT.
|
% +/-
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
% +/-
|
GMS ('07)
|
| ESPN* |
4
|
9.8
|
18.1%
|
13,321
|
26.6%
|
4
|
| CBS |
5
|
10.5
|
5.0%
|
16,773
|
7.6%
|
4
|
|
NBC**
|
4
|
11.0
|
-1.8%
|
17,943
|
1.9%
|
4
|
| Fox |
4
|
9.1
|
-4.2%
|
14,456
|
-3.3%
|
5
|
| NOTES: * = Rating listed for ESPN is a cable rating. ** = Thursday night NFL Kickoff game on NBC, featuring Redskins-Giants, began at 7:00pm ET to accommodate John McCain's acceptance speech from the Republican National Convention. Last year's Saints-Colts game kicked off at 8:30pm ET. |
PRE-GAME SHOWS: NBC's "Football Night in America" leads all pre-game shows, averaging a 4.8 national Nielsen rating with almost 7.8 million viewers, which is up 6.7% and 14.5%, respectively, from the same period a year ago. ESPN's "Monday Night Countdown" is also seeing healthy gains, up 5.6% in cable ratings, but the net is seeing a 4.3% cable ratings decline for its "Sunday NFL Countdown" show for the same period. "Fox NFL Sunday" is even in ratings from a year ago, but down in viewership. Despite strong ratings for its game telecasts, "The NFL Today" is seeing double-digit declines in ratings and viewership when compared to the same period in '07 (THE DAILY).
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NFL PRE-GAME SHOWS: AVERAGES THROUGH WEEK THREE
|
|
SHOW
|
NET
|
RAT.
|
% +/-
|
VIEWERS (000)
|
% +/-
|
|
"Football Night in America"*
|
NBC
|
4.8
|
6.7%
|
7,761
|
14.5%
|
|
"Monday Night Countdown"**
|
ESPN
|
1.9
|
5.6%
|
2,319
|
11.6%
|
| "Fox NFL Sunday" |
Fox
|
2.9
|
0.0%
|
4,179
|
-4.9%
|
| "Sunday NFL Countdown"** |
ESPN
|
2.2
|
-4.3%
|
2,643
|
-4.8%
|
| "The NFL Today" |
CBS
|
2.7
|
-12.9%
|
4,002
|
-13.8%
|
| "NFL GameDay Morning"**^ |
NFLN
|
0.5
|
---
|
274
|
---
|
| NOTES: * = Ratings, viewers listed are for 7:30-8:15pm ET. ** = Ratings listed for ESPN and NFL Network are cable ratings. ^ = This is the first season for "NFL GameDay Morning." |
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