A total of 17.8 percent of the TV audience that tuned in to the seven national NFL doubleheaders last season on Fox were men ages 18-34, according to SportsBusiness Journal’s analysis of Nielsen Media Research data from the 2005 calendar year.
Unless otherwise noted, NFL ratings reflect the average for the 14 regular season games shown nationally on Fox and the 18 regular season games shown nationally on CBS.
| Top 10 prime-time television series in 2005 (all viewers) |
| Series | Network | Rating | Share | Households (000s) |
| American Idol (Tues.) | Fox | 15.7 | 24 | 17,253 |
| American Idol (Wed.) | Fox | 15.3 | 23 | 16,807 |
| CSI | CBS | 13.8 | 22 | 15,145 |
| NFL | Fox | 12.9 | 24 | 14,173 |
| NFL | CBS | 12.4 | 23 | 13,664 |
| Survivor: Palau | CBS | 12.2 | 20 | 13,395 |
| Desperate Housewives | ABC | 11.2 | 17 | 12,245 |
| Dancing With The Stars | ABC | 11.1 | 18 | 12,151 |
| Survivor: Guatemala | CBS | 10.9 | 17 | 11,979 |
| Without A Trace | CBS | 10.9 | 18 | 11,948 |
| |
| Men 18-24 |
| Series | Network | Rating | Share | Households (000s) |
| NFL | Fox | 6.5 | 29 | 914 |
| Family Guy | Fox | 6.1 | 21 | 854 |
| NFL | CBS | 5.8 | 25 | 809 |
| American Dad | Fox | 5.7 | 20 | 796 |
| War At Home | Fox | 5.6 | 19 | 784 |
| Simpsons (Sun. 8 p.m.) | Fox | 5.4 | 21 | 753 |
| Monday Night Football | ABC | 5.1 | 19 | 722 |
| NFL* | Fox | 4.9 | 25 | 691 |
| American Idol (Wed.) | Fox | 4.9 | 19 | 690 |
| Simpsons (Sun. 8:30 p.m.) | Fox | 4.5 | 19 | 629 |
| |
| Men 25-34 |
| Series | Network | Rating | Share | Households (000s) |
| NFL | Fox | 11.3 | 35 | 2,147 |
| NFL | CBS | 10.3 | 32 | 1,957 |
| American Idol (Tues.) | Fox | 10.2 | 30 | 1,909 |
| American Idol (Wed.) | Fox | 9.8 | 26 | 1,830 |
| Monday Night Football | ABC | 9.1 | 25 | 1,733 |
| NFL* | Fox | 8.3 | 30 | 1,580 |
| NFL* | CBS | 7.2 | 26 | 1,377 |
| NFL** | CBS | 6.9 | 25 | 1,310 |
| The OT | Fox | 6.7 | 19 | 1,277 |
| Apprentice 3 | NBC | 6.7 | 18 | 1,245 |
| |
| Women 18-24 |
| Series | Network | Rating | Share | Households (000s) |
| American Idol (Wed.) | Fox | 10.9 | 32 | 1,505 |
| American Idol (Tues.) | Fox | 10.7 | 34 | 1,478 |
| Desperate Housewives | ABC | 6.3 | 19 | 868 |
| Grey's Anatomy | ABC | 6 | 19 | 826 |
| Simple Life 3 | Fox | 5.4 | 17 | 751 |
| O.C. | Fox | 4.9 | 17 | 682 |
| America's Next Top Model 5 | UPN | 4.7 | 15 | 645 |
| Extreme Makeover: Home Ed. | ABC | 4.6 | 15 | 639 |
| CSI | CBS | 4.6 | 15 | 638 |
| America's Next Top Model 4 | UPN | 4.5 | 16 | 627 |
| |
| Women 25-34 |
| Series | Network | Rating | Share | Households (000s) |
| American Idol (Tues.) | Fox | 14.9 | 35 | 2,808 |
| American Idol (Wed.) | Fox | 14.4 | 32 | 2,711 |
| Desperate Housewives | ABC | 10.7 | 25 | 2,032 |
| Apprentice 3 | NBC | 9.7 | 22 | 1,825 |
| Grey's Anatomy | ABC | 9.6 | 23 | 1,831 |
| Survivor: Palau | CBS | 9.1 | 23 | 1,726 |
| Extreme Makeover: Home Ed. | ABC | 8.6 | 20 | 1,641 |
| CSI | CBS | 7.9 | 19 | 1,493 |
| Survivor: Guatemala | CBS | 7.5 | 19 | 1,430 |
| Biggest Loser | NBC | 7.3 | 17 | 1,383 |
* Single game coverage, not part of a doubleheader
** Nine-week aggregate of regional coverage
Source: Nielsen Media Research
