NFL game telecasts accounted for each of the top 10 most-viewed sports telecasts on broadcast TV this year, with the BCS National Championship moving to cable and '11 being a non-Olympic year. This season's Dolphins-Cowboys game on Thanksgiving was the only regular-season game to crack the top 10, with the rest coming from last season's playoffs. Among non-NFL programming, the Cardinals-Rangers World Series Game Seven on Fox took the top spot with 25.4 million viewers. The '11 World Series took three spots among the top 10, while the Mavericks-Heat NBA Finals on ABC took three spots. Listed below are the most-viewed sports telecasts on broadcast TV through Dec. 19, along with the most-viewed non-NFL telecasts.
| MOST-VIEWED SPORTS TELECASTS ON BROADCAST TV |
| RK | TELECAST | DATE | NET | RAT. | VIEWERS
(000) |
| 1 | Super Bowl XLV: Packers-Steelers | 2/6 | Fox | 46.0 | 111,010 |
| 2 | AFC Championship: Jets-Steelers | 1/23 | CBS | 28.3 | 54,850 |
| 3 | NFC Championship: Packers-Bears | 1/23 | Fox | 28.1 | 51,884 |
| 4 | AFC Divisional Playoff: Jets-Patriots | 1/16 | CBS | 24.2 | 43,500 |
| 5 | NFC Wild Card: Packers-Eagles | 1/9 | Fox | 22.1 | 39,300 |
| 6 | AFC Divisional Playoff: Ravens-Steelers | 1/15 | CBS | 19.4 | 34,000 |
| 7 | AFC Wild Card: Jets-Colts | 1/8 | NBC | 18.7 | 33,400 |
| 8 | NFC Divisional Playoff: Seahawks-Bears | 1/16 | Fox | 19.1 | 32,500 |
| 9 | "NFL on CBS": Dolphins-Cowboys (Thanksgiving) | 11/24 | CBS | 14.3 | 30,901 |
| 10 | NFC Divisional Playoff: Packers-Falcons | 1/15 | Fox | 17.0 | 30,817 |
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| MOST-VIEWED NON-NFL SPORTS TELECASTS ON BROADCAST TV |
| RK | TELECAST | DATE | NET | RAT. | VIEWERS
(000) |
| 1 | World Series: Cardinals-Rangers: Game Seven | 10/28 | Fox | 14.7 | 25,403 |
| 2 | NBA Finals: Mavericks-Heat: Game Six | 6/12 | ABC | 13.3 | 23,880 |
| 3 | World Series: Cardinals-Rangers: Game Six | 10/27 | Fox | 12.7 | 21,065 |
| 4 | NCAA Basketball Championship: UConn-Butler | 4/4 | CBS | 11.7 | 20,055 |
| 5 | NCAA Football: LSU-Alabama | 11/5 | CBS | 11.5 | 20,011 |
| 6 | NBA Finals: Mavericks-Heat: Game Five | 6/9 | ABC | 10.8 | 18,318 |
| 7 | NCAA Tournament: Final Four: UConn-Kentucky | 4/2 | CBS | 9.5 | 16,715 |
| 8 | NBA Finals: Mavericks-Heat: Game Four | 6/7 | ABC | 9.6 | 16,126 |
| 9 | NASCAR Sprint Cup: Daytona 500 | 2/20 | Fox | 8.7 | 15,597 |
| 10 | NBA Finals: Mavericks-Heat: Game Two | 6/2 | ABC | 9.3 | 15,522 |
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CABLE: "Monday Night Football" telecasts had topped the yearly ranking of most-viewed sports telecasts on cable TV since ESPN picked up the package prior to the '06 season. But with the BCS National Championship airing for the first time on cable in '11, the Auburn-Oregon matchup took the top spot with 27.3 million viewers. The Rose Bowl also aired for the first time on cable in '11, with the TCU-Wisconsin matchup marking the year's second-most-viewed sports telecast with 20.6 million viewers. "MNF" still performed well, taking seven of the top 10 spots overall. Among non-NFL programming, the FIFA Women's World Cup Final ranked fourth, as the U.S. loss to Japan drew 13.5 million viewers, which ranked higher than both the Fiesta and Orange Bowl telecasts.
| MOST-VIEWED SPORTS TELECASTS ON CABLE TV |
| RK | TELECAST | DATE | NET | RAT. | VIEWERS
(000) |
| 1 | BCS National Championship: Auburn-Oregon | 1/10 | ESPN | 15.3 | 27,316 |
| 2 | Rose Bowl: TCU-Wisconsin | 1/1 | ESPN | 11.3 | 20,558 |
| 3 | "Monday Night Football": Redskins-Cowboys | 9/26 | ESPN | 10.6 | 17,104 |
| 4 | "Monday Night Football": Bears-Eagles | 11/7 | ESPN | 10.7 | 16,847 |
| 5 | "Monday Night Football": Steelers-49ers | 12/19 | ESPN | 10.1 | 16,677 |
| 6 | "Monday Night Football": Bears-Lions | 10/10 | ESPN | 10.3 | 16,378 |
| 7 | "Monday Night Football": Patriots-Dolphins | 9/12 | ESPN | 9.1 | 14,568 |
| 8 | "Monday Night Football": Giants-Saints | 11/28 | ESPN | 9.3 | 14,423 |
| 9 | "Monday Night Football": Vikings-Packers | 11/14 | ESPN | 8.7 | 14,188 |
| 10 | Allstate Sugar Bowl: Ohio State-Arkansas | 1/4 | ESPN | 8.2 | 13,635 |
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| MOST-VIEWED NON-NFL SPORTS TELECASTS ON CABLE TV |
| RK | TELECAST | DATE | NET | RAT. | VIEWERS
(000) |
| 1 | BCS National Championship: Auburn-Oregon | 1/10 | ESPN | 15.3 | 27,316 |
| 2 | Rose Bowl: TCU-Wisconsin | 1/1 | ESPN | 11.3 | 20,558 |
| 3 | Allstate Sugar Bowl: Ohio State-Arkansas | 1/4 | ESPN | 8.2 | 13,635 |
| 4 | FIFA Women's World Cup Final: Japan-U.S. | 7/17 | ESPN | 7.4 | 13,458 |
| 5 | NBA Eastern Conference Finals:
Heat-Bulls: Game One | 5/15 | TNT | 6.2 | 11,109 |
| 6 | NBA Eastern Conference Finals:
Heat-Bulls: Game Three | 5/22 | TNT | 6.4 | 10,889 |
| 7 | Tostitos Fiesta Bowl: Oklahoma-UConn | 1/1 | ESPN | 6.2 | 10,819 |
| 8 | Discover Orange Bowl: Stanford-Virginia Tech | 1/3 | ESPN | 6.7 | 10,682 |
| 9 | NBA Eastern Conference Finals:
Heat-Bulls: Game Five | 5/26 | TNT | 6.3 | 10,407 |
| 10 | NBA Eastern Conference Finals:
Heat-Bulls: Game Two | 5/18 | TNT | 6.1 | 10,036 |
