NFL TV Recap: 225 Million Americans Watched

NFL 2008

NFL TV Recap: 225 Million Americans Watched NFL Regular-Season Games In 2008

01/07/2009

NFL 2008 TV RECAP

225 MILLION AMERICANS WATCHED NFL GAMES

NFL GAMES: RECORD 13 OF 15 MOST-WATCHED SHOWS THIS FALL &

14 OF 15 MOST-WATCHED SHOWS ON CABLE

NFL REGULAR-SEASON RATINGS EXCEED OTHER SPORTS’ PLAYOFFS

NFL VIEWERSHIP 89 PERCENT HIGHER

THAN OTHER PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING

Football fans across America continued to tune their televisions to NFL games in large numbers in 2008. According to Nielsen Media Research, 225 million Americans watched NFL regular-season games in 2008. That’s nearly 100 million more than the record number of Americans who voted in the 2008 presidential election (131.2 million).

In addition, a record 13 of the 15 most-watched TV shows among all programming this fall are NFL games (chart below) – up from 11 of the top 15 shows in fall 2007. Five years ago, in 2003, NFL games accounted for one of the top 15 fall programs. Also this fall, NFL games were the week’s most-watched TV program in 15 of the NFL’s 17 regular-season weeks.

NFL games were the highest-rated programs locally a record 88 percent of the time – topping the mark set last season (86 percent). By comparison, NFL games topped local NFL market ratings 73 percent of the time five years ago (in 2003) and 55 percent of the time in 2001.

NFL viewership on broadcast television continued to out-draw network primetime viewership. NFL games on CBS, FOX and NBC averaged 16.6 million viewers – 89 percent higher than the average primetime viewership among the four major over-the-air networks (8.8 million average on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC). That advantage is roughly even with last year and up from a 56 percent edge five years ago (chart below).

More 2008 NFL TV highlights:

For the entire TV season, NFL games rank at the top of weekly programs in average viewership with the top two, and three of the top seven programs on network television (chart below). In addition, NFL games and NFL pregame and postgame shows account for the top 10 programs among men 18-49 (chart below).

2008 NFL national games on NBC, CBS (Sunday national & Thanksgiving) and FOX (Sunday national & Thanksgiving) averaged a 10.1 rating which exceeds playoff broadcast averages for other sports: 2008 NBA Playoffs (3.7 rating) & NBA Finals (9.3 rating) on ABC; 2008 MLB NLCS (4.8 rating) & 2008 World Series (8.4 rating) on FOX.

· FOX’s Sunday National Game (4:15 PM ET) was the most-watched weekly program on TV with an average of 22.3 million viewers (chart below).

· CBS’ Sunday National Game (4:15 PM ET) was the second-most-watched weekly program on TV with an average of 21.7 million viewers (chart below).

· NBC Sunday Night Football ranked fifth among all primetime shows with an average of 16.8 million viewers (chart below).

· FOX’s Dec. 7 Cowboys-Steelers game is the most-watched show of the broadcast season with 25.7 million viewers.

· CBS’ Sept. 14 Patriots-Jets game (plus conclusion of Chargers-Broncos) was viewed by 25.2 million fans, making it the most-watched NFL game on a September Sunday since at least 1991. (Prior to 1991, Nielsen Media Research did not regularly measure individual program viewership).

NBC’s Cowboys-Giants game on Dec. 14 was the most-watched Sunday Night Football game ever (23.1 million viewers).

ESPN’s Monday Night Football was the most-watched series on cable with an average of 12.0 million viewers. Monday Night Football accounted for 14 of the 15 most-watched cable programs this fall.

ESPN’s Eagles-Cowboys telecast on Sept. 15 is the most-watched show in cable history with 18.6 million viewers

NFL Network’s eight Thursday and Saturday Night Football games ranked as the top-rated show of the day among all programs on ad-supported cable networks. All 24 of NFL Network’s games dating to 2006 have earned cable’s top rating for the night.

NFL Network posted the week’s highest average primetime cable rating (2.31) among all cable networks for the week of Dec. 15-21. NFL Network’s Ravens-Cowboys telecast on Dec. 20 earned the fourth-highest cable rating (9.22) of any sporting event in 2008.

NFL VS. PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP ON BROADCAST TV

NFL on
Broadcast
NFL

Broadcast
Primetime
% Advantage

2002 Avg. Viewers
15.8 million
10.3 million
52%

2003 Avg. Viewers
15.5 million
9.9 million
56%

2004 Avg. Viewers
15.4 million
9.8 million
57%

2005 Avg. Viewers
15.6 million
9.7 million
61%

2006 Avg. Viewers
16.3 million
9.8 million
66%

2007 Avg. Viewers
16.6 million
8.7 million
91%

2008 Avg. Viewers
16.6 million
8.8 million
89%

Source: NFL & Nielsen Media Research. NFL regular season on Broadcast television

(CBS, FOX & NBC…ABC prior to 2006). Broadcast primetime on BIG 4 networks (ABC, CBS, NBC & FOX) all programs, NFL regular season dates used.

Following are the top network television weekly programs nationally in average total viewers:

Network

Program
Viewers

1. FOX Sunday National Game
22.3 million

2. CBS Sunday National Game
21.7 million

3. Dancing With The Stars
19.2 million

4. CSI
18.8 million

5. NCIS
17.6 million

6. Dancing With The Stars Results
17.4 million

7. NBC Sunday Night Football
16.8 million

8. Desperate Housewives
16.2 million

9. The Mentalist
16.1 million

10. 60 Minutes
15.6 million

Following are this season’s top 10 weekly programs on television in a key demographic (avg. rating):

Men 18-49

Program
Rating

1. FOX Sunday National Game
11.1

2. CBS Sunday National Game
10.4

3. NBC Sunday Night Football
8.7

4. FOX Sunday Single Game
7.9

5. CBS Sunday Single Game
7.1

5. The OT (FOX NFL Postgame)
7.1

7. ESPN Monday Night Football
6.8

8. NBC Sunday Night Pre-Kick
6.6

9. FOX Sunday Regional Game
6.3

10. CBS Sunday Regional Game
5.7

Broadcast Notes:

Regional — First window of a doubleheader

National — Second window of a doubleheader

Single — Only window on network not airing doubleheader that week.

Source: NFL, Nielsen Media Research, 9/1/08-12/31/08

Following are the 15 most-watched shows of the current TV season:

Program (Game)
Viewers

1. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Steelers), 12/7
25.7 million

2. CBS Sunday National (Broncos-Jets & Pats-Steelers), 11/30
25.5 million

3. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Jets), 9/14
25.2 million

4. 60 Minutes (Obama interview preceded by late SD-Pitt finish), 11/16
25.1 million

5. CBS Sunday National (mostly Steelers-Ravens), 12/14
24.4 million

6. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Cardinals), 10/12
23.7 million

7. CSI (season premiere), 10/9
23.5 million

8. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Giants), 11/2
23.3 million

9. FOX Sunday National (mostly Giants-Cardinals), 11/23
23.3 million

10. CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Packers), 10/19
23.2 million

11. NBC Sunday Night Football (Giants-Cowboys), 12/14
23.1 million

12. FOX Thanksgiving Day (Seahawks-Cowboys), 11/27
22.7 million

13. CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Steelers), 11/9
22.4 million

14. FOX Sunday National (mostly Giants-Steelers), 10/26
22.3 million

15. NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Packers), 9/21
22.2 million

Source: NFL, Nielsen Media Research, 9/1/08-12/31/08

Following are the 15 most-watched basic cable shows of the current TV season:

Program, Date
Viewers

1. ESPN Monday Night Football (Eagles-Cowboys), 9/15
18.6 million

2. ESPN Monday Night Football (Steelers-Redskins), 11/3
14.2 million

3. ESPN Monday Night Football (Packers-Bears), 12/22
13.8 million

4. TNT MLB ALCS (Red Sox-Rays Game 7), 10/19
13.4 million

5. ESPN Monday Night Football (Vikings-Packers), 9/8
12.5 million

6. ESPN Monday Night Football (Jets-Chargers), 9/22
11.88 million

7. ESPN Monday Night Football (49ers-Cardinals), 11/10
11.87 million

8. ESPN Monday Night Football (Ravens-Steelers), 9/29
11.78 million

9. ESPN Monday Night Football (Colts-Titans), 10/27
11.6 million

10. ESPN Monday Night Football (Bucs-Panthers), 12/8
11.58 million

11. ESPN Monday Night Football (Browns-Bills), 11/17
11.57 million

12. ESPN Monday Night Football (Giants-Browns), 10/13
11.42 million

13. ESPN Monday Night Football (Packers-Saints), 11/24
11.38 million

14. ESPN Monday Night Football (Vikings-Saints), 10/6
11.0 million

15. ESPN Monday Night Football (Broncos-Patriots), 10/20
10.8 million

Source: NFL, Nielsen Media Research, 9/1/08-12/31/08

www.sportscapperisland.com/

 

_____OLD HEAD_____________
SHOW NO EMOTION