The NFL over the weekend saw ratings gains for three of its four Wild Card windows. The Packers' 35-18 win over the Redskins yesterday on Fox led all games with a 23.6 overnight rating. It was the only game to see a decline in year-over-year ratings. The late Sunday afternoon Wild Card window last season was Cowboys-Lions, which drew a 25.0 overnight, and that remains Fox' second-best NFC Wild Card on record. Despite the decline, Packers-Redskins projects to be the best audience of any kind on TV since Super Bowl XLIX last February. Milwaukee drew a 55.1 local rating for the game, while DC drew a 38.6. Meanwhile, NBC in yesterday's early afternoon window drew a 22.5 overnight for Seahawks-Vikings, marking the best figure on any net for that Wild Card window since '94. Seahawks-Vikings is up 21% from an 18.6 overnight for Colts-Bengals in the same window last season. Seattle-Tacoma drew a 50.4 local rating, while Minneapolis-St. Paul drew a 50.5 rating.
AFC SATURDAY: CBS on Saturday night drew 31.2 million viewers for the Steelers’ late win over the Bengals in the AFC Wild Card, up 12% from 27.9 million viewers for the Saturday primetime Wild Card last year, which was Ravens-Steelers on NBC. However, Steelers-Bengals is down from NBC’s Saints-Eagles in the same window in ’14, which drew 34.4 million viewers. Steelers-Bengals marks the most-watched AFC Wild Card in any window on any net since CBS’ Broncos-Steelers drew 42.4 million viewers in the late Sunday window in ’12. Meanwhile, the Chiefs' shutout of the Texans on Saturday afternoon, which aired on ESPN with a simulcast on ABC, drew a combined 25.2 million viewers. That figure is up 16% from ESPN’s first-ever NFL Playoff game last year, which saw the Panthers-Cardinals NFC Wild Card draw 21.7 million viewers. That game was not simulcast nationally on ABC -- only in local markets. Chiefs-Texans is down from 27.6 million viewers for Colts-Chiefs in the same window in ’14, which aired solely on NBC (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
CREDIT WHERE IT'S DUE: In N.Y., Bob Raissman writes NBC's Al Michaels following Vikings K Blair Walsh missing a potential game-winning field goal "let NBC’s pictures of agony and ecstasy take over," and then Cris Collinsworth "delivered the goods." He said, "There is no way to practice a three-foot put to win the Masters. And there is no way to practice the pressure of a game-winning playoff field goal." Then, NBC "popped up a shot of Walsh wandering around the field, perhaps looking for some consolation." Raissman: "Very nice sequence" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/11). SI.com's Richard Deitsch wrote CBS cameraman John Pavlovich during Steelers-Bengals was "in the right corner of Paul Brown Stadium, filming the acrobatic third-quarter grab" by Steelers WR Martavis Bryant. Deitsch: "Bravo to him for this fine work." Meanwhile, ESPN announcer Mike Tirico and producer Jay Rothman did "nice work" in acknowledging the work of cameraman Mike Chiasson on air during Chiefs-Texans. Chiasson has worked at the net since '89, "making him ESPN's longest-tenured NFL game employee" (SI.com, 1/10).
OFF-FIELD PERSONA: The DAILY NEWS' Raissman notes Panthers CB Josh Norman appeared on ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" less than 24 hours after the controversial ending to Steelers-Bengals. Norman's lecturing was "hard to take, especially when he spoke in generalities rather than offering pointed criticism." His soliloquy "got even harder to stomach when he talked about 'character'" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/11).
NOT GOING ANYWHERE: SI.com's Deitsch asked, "Is there a ceiling on NFL ratings? I don’t think so in the near-term." Those "shouting that there is a war on football are also narrowcasting a small group of opinionists that don’t have the clout to re-shape viewer behavior." There "cannot be a war on NFL football when the nation’s largest broadcast entities are pumping millions into promoting a product they paid billions to air" (SI.com, 1/10).
MANNING THE FLAMES: The DAILY NEWS' Raissman wrote CBS' Jim Nantz "should be highly praised" for expressing his skepticism over Al Jazeera’s report linking Broncos QB Peyton Manning to HGH. Nantz was "absolutely correct" in expressing his "unvarnished opinion, without any hesitation, in such a candid manner." Raissman: "Onions? You bet." Raissman asks, "Would other NFL play-by-play voices be so forthcoming on such a controversial issue? Would they risk being 'spoken to' by their bosses?" An announcer with Nantz’ stature "can offer his opinions, when he chooses, without fear of corporate repercussions" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/10). In Boston, Bob Ryan wrote of Manning, "Did he earn this apparent free pass from just about everyone? Yup." (BOSTON GLOBE, 1/10). In Chicago, Rick Telander asked, "Who is not going to believe a wholesome 'good guy' like Manning?" Manning "comes on, denies all, looks incredibly hurt, and a company like Al Jazeera -- which many people subliminally identify as a radical Muslim propaganda machine -- doesn’t stand a chance" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 1/9).
