NBC’s Sunday Night Football Averaging Best Viewership In Decade And A Half

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NBC’s ratings for Sunday Night Football have been through the roof this season and as Bears-Giants set a record, it was the number one show in primetime for the week and the most watched primetime game in October in 10 years. This is quite big. And the ratings in Chicago were huge despite the Bears not showing up. Sunday’s viewership averaged just under 21 million people and it gives NBC an average viewership over four weeks at just under 23 million. These are staggering numbers.

“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL”: BEST AVERAGE VIEWERSHIP IN 14 YEARS

SNF 4 For 4 in Sunday Night Wins

No. 1 Primetime Show of the Week in All Key Adult and Male Demos

Bears-Giants Most-Watched October NFL Primetime Game in 10 Years

NEW YORK – October 5, 2010 – Through the first four weeks of the NFL season, NBC is averaging nearly 23 million viewers, the most for the first four weeks of a primetime NFL package in 14 years (24.0 million in 1996 on ABC: four broadcasts). Sunday night’s game was the No. 1 show of the night for the fourth straight Sunday, the No. 1 show of the week in the key advertising demographics and the most-watched October primetime NFL game in 10 years, according to official national data released today by The Nielsen Company.

• NBC’s four-week viewership of 22.9 million is 2.1 million more than and 10 percent above last year’s 20.8 million for the opening four weeks of the NFL season and up 29 percent over the first four weeks in 2008 (17.8 million).

• “Sunday Night Football” featuring the New York Giants 17-3 victory over the Chicago Bears was seen by an average of 20.9 million people, the most for a primetime NFL game in October since 10/9/2000 (Buccaneers-Vikings, 22.0 million on ABC), and a gain of 14 percent over last year’s Week 4 SNF game (Chargers-Steelers, 18.4 million).

• This marks the fourth time in five NBC primetime games this season that viewership surpassed 20 million.

SNF AVERAGE VIEWERSHIP THROUGH FOUR WEEKS:

1. 2010, 22.9 million

2. 2009, 20.8 million

3. 2006, 18.6 million

4. 2008, 17.8 million

5. 2007, 17.1 million

SNF NOW 4 FOR 4: With 20.9 million viewers, “Sunday Night Football” was the most-watched regularly-scheduled primetime show on Sunday night for the fourth straight week this season. Last season, SNF was the most-watched Sunday night primetime broadcast in a record 15 of 16 (94 percent) weeks. In 2008, SNF won 13 of 16 (81 percent) Sunday nights after winning 11 of 16 in 2007 (69 percent) and nine of 16 in 2006 (56 percent).

NO. 1 SHOW OF THE WEEK: For the fourth straight week “Sunday Night Football” was the No. 1 regularly-scheduled primetime broadcast of the week by a wide margin among Adults 18-49, the coveted advertiser demographic, as well as among Adults 18-34, Adults 25-54, Men 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54. Among viewers, SNF ranked No. 2 for the week just 400,000 viewers behind Dancing With The Stars on ABC. 

• For the week, “Sunday Night Football” has a 36 percent margin of victory over the No. 2 show in Adults 18-49 (8.0 for SNF vs. 5.9 for Glee).

• “Sunday Night Football” was also the No. 2 show of the week among Teens (12-17) trailing only Glee on Fox.

• Through four weeks of the NFL season, “Sunday Night Football” stands as the top show on television among viewers, households and all key adult and male demos.

The 12.5/20 national rating for Sunday night’s game is 14 percent ahead of last year’s Week 4 SNF game (Chargers-Steelers, 11.0/18). The four-week average household rating of 13.7/23 is nine percent higher than last year’s first four weekends (12.6/21) and 26 percent ahead of the first four weeks in 2008 (10.8/18).

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR BEARS-GIANTS:

1. Chicago, 39.7/54

2. Milwaukee, 21.9/33

3. Las Vegas, 20.6/33

4. New Orleans, 18.5/25

5. West Palm Beach, 16.3/22

6. Richmond, 16.0/23

7. Indianapolis, 15.8/24

8. Phoenix, 15.7/26

T9. Denver, 15.6/25

T9. Kansas City, 15.6/22

T9. Norfolk, 15.6/22

12. New York, 15.4/22

That will do it.

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