ESPN last night drew a 6.5 overnight rating for the Falcons' 24-21 win over the Buccaneers on "MNF," down 19% from an 8.0 for the comparable Panthers-Redskins matchup in Week 15 last year. Two years ago in Week 15, ESPN drew a 7.4 overnight for Lions-Saints, which was a season low for the net. Last night's game peaked at a 7.6 rating between 9:30-9:45pm ET. Falcons-Bucs drew a combined 22.1 rating in Atlanta (8.3 on ESPN, 13.8 on WSB-ABC) and a 15.1 in Tampa-St. Petersburg (10.2 on ESPN, 4.9 on WMOR-Ind.). Rounding out the top five local markets were New Orleans (14.9), Buffalo (9.7) and Jacksonville (9.3). ESPN season-to-date is averaging a 7.4 rating for "MNF" (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).
TOP OF THE HEAP: CBS ended up having the most-watched game of the NFL season on any network for the Patriots' thrilling win over the Steelers on Sunday afternoon, as 26.9 million viewers tuned in. That total is up 8% from 25.0 million viewers for the comparable Week 15 game last year, which featured Patriots-Broncos. Pats-Steelers peaked with 31.6 million viewers during the game's conclusion from 7:00-7:30pm ET (THE DAILY). FS1’s Colin Cowherd said of the game, "It was a four-hour great movie. I enjoyed myself.” Cowherd added, “It gave me everything I was hoping for. Big plays, wild ending. I got to be honest, that ending to me is what made the game a classic.” FS1’s Jason Whitlock said, “Steelers-Patriots is why I love football. That was an incredible contest with an exclamation point at the end. A quirky ending that will be talked about for years. ... That's fantastic football. That's a thrilling game, that's the godfather.” FS1’s Tony Gonzalez: “It was like a movie. I just needed popcorn while watching the game. I was in a happy, happy place. It couldn't have ended better. … For me, that was first class, top grade NFL football” (“Speak for Yourself,” FS1, 12/18).
PHONE HOME: BROADCASTING & CABLE's Jon Lafayette noted NBCU yesterday “acquired rights” from the NFL to stream “SNF” to mobile phones. The deal “follows a new agreement between the NFL and Verizon, which had had exclusive rights to stream NFL games on phones.” Under Verizon's old deal, only its subscribers “could see streaming games on their phones.” The new deal “allows Verizon to stream games on its media platforms including Yahoo.com, but now subscribers to any mobile service can view games.” NBCU has been streaming “SNF” to other digital devices, including desktops, tablets and connected TVs, but next season “will be the first when NBCU will be able to stream its games to phones.” The new agreement will “allow NBCU to sell national advertising and local affiliate advertising on the mobile stream” (BROADCASTINGCABLE.com, 12/18).
