The Patriots continue to be a boon for the NFL’s broadcast partners, as yesterday’s matchup with the Vikings in Fox’ national window drew a 15.9 overnight, the highest rating for a game this season on any network. Vikings-Patriots was up 16% from a 13.7 rating for last year’s Panthers-Saints. Fox also drew an increase yesterday for its regional window, drawing a 9.9 overnight, up 19% from an 8.3 last year in Week 13. The Chargers’ come-from-behind win over the Steelers drew a 12.3 overnight on NBC, off 6% from a 13.0 for the comparable Eagles-Seahawks “SNF” matchup in Week 13 last year. The game peaked at a 13.4 rating between 11:15-11:30pm ET. Despite being down from ’17, “SNF” still won the night in primetime for NBC. Pittsburgh led all local markets with a 45.9 overnight, followed by San Diego with a 22.8. CBS drew a 9.5 for its singleheader window yesterday, down slightly from a 9.9 last year (Josh Carpenter, THE DAILY).
NFL WEEK 13 OVERNIGHT RATINGS |
NET |
'18 WINDOW |
RAT. |
'17 WINDOW |
RAT. |
% +/- |
CBS |
(single) |
9.5 |
(single) |
9.8 |
-3.1% |
Fox |
(regional) |
9.9 |
(regional) |
8.3 |
19.3% |
Fox |
Vikings-Patriots (90%) |
15.9 |
Panthers-Saints (72%) |
13.7 |
16.1% |
NBC |
Chargers-Steelers |
12.3 |
Eagles-Seahawks |
13.1 |
-6.1% |
FACING THE MUSIC: ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" aired a live interview with former Chiefs RB Kareem Hunt, who was released late Friday night following video of his role in a domestic assault surfacing, and SI.com's Conor Orr wrote the net's Lisa Salters "handled the close-range sit down with the appropriate tact." The net showed the interview live "to prevent the feel of a coddled, redemptive sit down where everything from the outfit to the lighting was arranged by a public relations team looking to soften the blow." Hunt was "pressed on a few of the details that he apparently did not feel were important to share with the Chiefs until the security camera footage was obtained by TMZ" (SI.com, 12/2). Yahoo Sports' Eric Adelson wrote Salters and "Countdown" host Sam Ponder "just did terrific work on the Kareem Hunt interview and discussion." Adelson: "Kept a lot of the focus where it belongs, instead of just football." Bleacher Report's David Gardner: "For all the people who naysayed the Kareem Hunt interview before it even happened, allow Lisa Salters to remind you the value of asking challenging questions to on difficult subjects." Yahoo Sports' Shalise Manza Young: "The one thing I wish Lisa Salters had brought up was June incident Hunt was apparently involved in, when he punched a man at an Ohio resort; he said video from February isn't who he is, but he might have done something similar just a couple months later" (TWITTER.com, 12/2).
MEDIA MONITOR: The NFL pregame shows on Sunday all covered the Hunt issue early, with CBS' "The NFL Today" and "Fox NFL Sunday" both leading their broadcasts with the story. CBS spent approximately the first 12 minutes discussing Hunt, while Fox led with approximately four minutes of discussion about Hunt. ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" had coverage of the Hunt story throughout the three-hour broadcast, but the first mention was not until approximately 12 minutes into the broadcast (THE DAILY).
STRAIGHT FROM THE NOTEBOOK: NBCSPORTS.com's Peter King writes there were several examples of "good reporting" on this week's Sunday NFL shows. ESPN's Adam Schefter and Chris Mortensen revealed the NFL "never spoke" to Hunt after the incident, while NFL Network's Ian Rapoport got former NFLer Ray Rice to "dish on lessons to share with Hunt" and Fox' Jay Glazer reported on the Saturday meeting in which Chiefs coach Andy Reid "told the team about the organization's decision to cut Hunt"(NBCSPORTS.com, 12/3).
