The charts below list final Nielsen ratings from recent sports telecasts. All ratings listed are U.S. ratings (THE DAILY).
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
| "NFL on CBS": Patriots-Steelers (85%) | 10/30 | CBS | 4:15-7:30pm | 14.6 | 24,564 |
| "Sunday Night Football": Cowboys-Eagles | 10/30 | NBC | 8:31-11:06pm | 13.8 | 22,994 |
| "NFL on Fox": (single) | 10/30 | Fox | 1:00-4:05pm | 10.3 | 17,110 |
| "NFL on CBS": (regional) | 10/30 | CBS | 1:00-4:15pm | 9.1 | 13,942 |
| "Football Night in America" | 10/30 | NBC | 7:30-8:15pm | 6.0 | 10,002 |
| College Football: (regional) | 10/29 | ABC | 8:07pm-12:08am | 5.3 | 8,426 |
| College Football: Georgia-Florida | 10/29 | CBS | 3:30-7:25pm | 3.2 | 5,001 |
| "Fox NFL Sunday" | 10/30 | Fox | 12:00-1:00pm | 3.0 | 4,300 |
| College Football: (regional) | 10/29 | ABC | 3:30-7:11pm | 2.7 | 4,420 |
| "The NFL Today" | 10/30 | CBS | 12:00-1:00pm | 2.4 | n/a |
| "UFC Primetime" (preview show) | 10/30 | Fox | 5:00-6:00pm | 1.3 | 2,000 |
| College Football: Notre Dame-Navy | 10/29 | NBC | 3:30-6:41pm | 1.1 | 1,724 |
| PBR Finals (taped) | 10/30 | NBC | 4:00-6:00pm | 0.8 | 1,174 |
| "College Football Countdown" | 10/29 | ABC | 3:00-3:30pm | 0.6 | n/a |
| "College Football Today" | 10/29 | CBS | 3:00-3:30pm | 0.5 | n/a |
| "College Football 2011" | 10/29 | CBS | 2:30-3:00pm | 0.4 | 649 |
| | | | | | |
NOTE: Local ratings for N.Y., Boston, Philadelphia and Hartford were excluded last weekend due to a snowstorm.
| TELECAST | DATE | NET | TIME (ET) | RAT. | VIEWERS (000) |
"Monday Night Football":
Ravens-Jaguars | 10/24 | ESPN | 8:30pm-12:02am | 6.1 | 9,275 |
| NASCAR Sprint Cup: Martinsville | 10/30 | ESPN | 1:43-6:01pm | 3.1 | 4,923 |
College Football:
Wisconsin-Ohio State | 10/29 | ESPN | 7:58-11:28pm | 2.7 | 4,547 |
College Football:
Michigan State-Nebraska | 10/29 | ESPN | 12:01-3:18pm | 3.0 | 4,335 |
College Football:
Oklahoma-Kansas State | 10/29 | ESPN | 3:30-7:00pm | 1.9 | 2,838 |
| "Monday Night Countdown" | 10/24 | ESPN | 7:00-8:30pm | 1.9 | 2,772 |
| "Sunday NFL Countdown" | 10/30 | ESPN | 10:00am-1:00pm | 1.6 | 2,329 |
| "NASCAR Countdown" | 10/30 | ESPN | 1:00-1:43pm | 1.5 | 2,291 |
| "College GameDay" | 10/29 | ESPN | 10:00am-12:01pm | 1.5 | 2,043 |
College Football:
South Carolina-Tennessee | 10/29 | ESPN2 | 7:15-10:32pm | 1.3 | 1,985 |
| | | | | | |
OWNING THE LOCAL MARKET: The Sabres drew the "highest local television ratings" in the NHL in October and are up 15.2% from the same period last year. MSG Network "averaged an 8.3 rating last month, the highest number in three years for the Buffalo market." That "compares to a 7.2 rating" in '10-11, and takes into account the "two afternoon games the team played while in Europe to start the season." In primetime games on MSG, the Sabres telecasts "averaged a 9.3 rating and approximately 60,000 viewing households" (BIZJOURNALS.com, 11/3).
SUNDAY BEST: New Orleans has the "highest local TV ratings for NFL home games; it's averaging 50.1% of households for Saints games." Detroit has the "biggest ratings increase over 2010 -- up 25% -- while the Minnesota Vikings and St. Louis Rams tied for the biggest ratings drop with each off 20%" (USA TODAY, 11/4)....The Falcons' TV ratings "through the first seven games are up 12 percent from last season in the Atlanta 23-county designated market area." The team is "enjoying its highest ratings start through seven games in franchise history" (AJC.com, 11/4).
