Week 12 was already off to a slow start for ratings with the NFL's Thanksgiving Day games, and yesterday's slate also did the league no favors. Three of four windows were down yesterday, with only NBC's "SNF" seeing an increase. CBS led the way with a 13.3 overnight rating for its national window, which saw Saints-Rams cross-flexed over to the net. That figure is down 12% from Panthers-Raiders last year, which also was part of cross-flexing. CBS also drew an 8.1 overnight for its regional window, which featured Dolphins-Patriots, and that was down 8%. Meanwhile, NBC last night drew a 12.2 overnight for the Steelers' last-second win over the Packers, up 3% from an 11.8 for the Chiefs' OT win over the Broncos in Week 12 last year. Packers-Steelers peaked at a 12.9 rating as the game was concluding from 11:00-11:30pm ET. Milwaukee led all markets with a 44.3 local rating, while Pittsburgh drew a 40.8 rating. Rounding out the top five were Minneapolis-St. Paul (19.8), Norfolk (17.4) and Richmond (16.9) (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
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NFL WEEK 12 SUNDAY OVERNIGHT RATINGS
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NET
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'17 TELECAST
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RAT.
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'16 TELECAST
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RAT.
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% +/-
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Fox
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(single)
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10.0
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(single)
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11.0
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-9.1%
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CBS
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(regional)
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8.1
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(regional)
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8.8
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-8.0%
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CBS
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Saints-Rams (82%)
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13.3
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Panthers-Raiders (63%)
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15.1
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-11.9%
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NBC
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Packers-Steelers
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12.2
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Chiefs-Broncos
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11.8
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3.4%
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FLEX APPEAL: In L.A., Sam Farmer notes in a season "filled with hand wringing over sagging TV ratings," the Rams have "barged onto center stage and commanded the spotlight" as the team posted a 26-20 victory over the Saints yesterday in CBS' national window. The issue for the NFL is "how to reshuffle the lineup to give the Rams maximum exposure, while keeping the networks as happy as possible." The NFL is "strongly considering" flexing the Dec. 10 Eagles-Rams game into the Sunday night slot "currently occupied" by Ravens-Steelers. That decision "will be made early this week." At the end of the first month of the season, Fox and CBS are "allowed to protect five of their remaining games from being flexed." Fox did "not protect Eagles-Rams ... but now is fighting hard to retroactively protect it and make it their national showcase game." The league is also "mulling moving" Vikings-Panthers into the Sunday night slot and "keeping Eagles-Rams as the afternoon national game" (
L.A. TIMES, 11/27).
VIOLENCE PART OF THE APPEAL: ESPN The Magazine's Seth Wickersham noted he does not believe the NFL's ratings drop "has a lot to do with the violence of the game." He said, "There's a war right now within the NFL that's playing out where there are owners who think that fans come to the NFL for violence and they don't actually want the game to get too much safer." A lot of the ratings decline has to do with both "viewer habits changing" and people "being turned off by the NFL." Wickersham: "Maybe not totally because of head injuries, but because of the way that they've handled things. ... College football ratings are up, so America is not losing its appetite for football as much as people seem to think" ("NewsHour," PBS, 11/24).
OLD-SCHOOL APPROACH: In N.Y., Zachary Ripple noted Fox' Chris Spielman "wasn't having" Jets WR Robby Anderson's public lobbying for "Pro Bowl support" in yesterday's game against the Panthers. After scoring his second touchdown to put the Jets up by five points in the second quarter, Anderson turned to a camera and said, "Hey, will y'all vote for me in the Pro Bowl, man? Please?" Spielman replied during the broadcast and said, "How about we worry about outscoring somebody in the fourth quarter and you focus on this game instead of campaigning for Pro Bowl votes? Let's try that first" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 11/27).
HOMECOMING GAME: In Baltimore, Peter Schmuck noted ESPN's Lisa Salters "will be playing a home game" during "MNF" in Baltimore tonight for Texans-Ravens. She "got her start" in TV at WBAL-NBC in the '90s. Salters is "looking forward" to the broadcast for some of the "same reasons that native Baltimoreans welcome the opportunity for their embattled city to make a positive impression on a national stage." Salters: "When I tell people, ‘I live in Baltimore,’ they immediately think of 'The Wire.' This is a great place to come visit. Great museums. The Aquarium. What you saw on television ... that’s television" (Baltimore SUN, 11/26).
LIVE WHILE I'M LIVE: SPORTING NEWS' Michael McCarthy noted ESPN's Trey Wingo "built" the net's "NFL Live." Asked if it would be difficult to give the show up for his new spot on ESPN Radio's "Golic & Wingo," Wingo said, "Yes and no. 'NFL Live' was the only show I ever really wanted to do here. We started 15 years ago and I was thrilled to death to do it. That will be hard, there's no question about it. But I'm very proud of what we were able to do with that show. I will still be involved. I'll still do 'NFL Primetime.' I’ll still do the draft. I'll still do the Hall of Fame" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 11/27).
THE PATRIOT: In Boston, Chad Finn wrote former NFLer Jerod Mayo's "knack for explaining football complexities in layman’s terms has been apparent since he became a regular on NBC Sports Boston’s 'Quick Slants' last season." But his sense of humor, which "meshes well with host Tom Curran’s offbeat style, has really come out lately, such as when he skittered around the set during the conclusion of a recent show pretending he was curling." Finn: "I never figured he’d be one of the many ex-Patriots to go the television route when done playing. Turns out he’s one of the best" (BOSTON GLOBE, 11/24).
