Sunday Night Football Gets Its Highest Overnight Primetime Ratings Ever

This just in from the National Broadcasting Company, overnight ratings for Sunday Night Football are the highest in series history. Take a look.

BEST OVERNIGHT RATING IN “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” HISTORY; 16.5 FOR EAGLES-COWBOYS

Best Sunday/Monday Primetime NFL Overnight in 12 Years

SNF No. 1 Show on Sunday Night For 14^th Straight Week

SNF Powered NBC to a Sunday Night Win

20% Better Than Week 14 Last Season

Philadelphia (38.4) and Dallas (38.0) Led All Metered Markets

NEW YORK – December 13, 2010 – Last night’s Eagles-Cowboys game tied the record for the highest overnight rating in the five-year history of “Sunday Night Football,” tied for the best Sunday/Monday primetime NFL rating in 12 years, was up 20 percent over last year’s Week 14 game, was the top-rated show on Sunday night for 14^th straight week and led NBC to another Sunday night win, according to overnight data released today by the Nielsen Company.  The game, in which the Eagles beat the Cowboys, 30-27, registered a 16.5 overnight rating and a 25 share.

• The 16.5/25 overnight rating ties the Giants-Cowboys Week 2 game last season, which saw the much-anticipated debut of the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium, as the best overnight rating in the five-year history of “Sunday Night Football.”

• Last night’s game tied for the best overnight rating for a Sunday/Monday NFL primetime game since Broncos-Dolphins on 12/21/98 on ABC (17.4/27).

• Last night’s overnight rating is an increase of 20 percent over last year’s Week 14 game (Eagles-Giants, 13.8/22) and up 77 percent from Week 14 in 2008, which featured the Redskins-Ravens (9.3/14).

• The rating peaked at a 17.3/25 from 9:30-10 p.m. ET just before halftime.

• Five NBC games this season, including this year’s Thursday night opener, rank among the top six NBC primetime games ever.

“SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” TOP OVERNIGHT RATING/SHARE:

*Sundays Only

T1. 12/12/10, Eagles-Cowboys, 16.5/25 (Last Night’s Game) 

T1. 9/20/09, Giants-Cowboys, 16.5/27 (Dallas Cowboys Stadium Debut)

3. 9/12/10, Cowboys-Redskins, 16.4/26 (Week 1 – 2010)

4. 10/24/10, Vikings-Packers, 16.0/25 (Favre returns to Lambeau II, Week 7 – 2010)

5. 11/21/10, Giants-Eagles, 15.9/24 (Week 11 – 2010)

6. 11/25/07, Eagles-Patriots, 15.6/24

7. 12/14/08, Giants-Cowboys, 15.4/24

8. 9/19/10, Giants-Colts, 15.2/24 (“Manning Bowl II”)

T9. 11/15/09, Patriots-Colts, 15.1/24

T9. 11/5/06, Colts-Patriots, 15.1/22

11. 9/10/06, Colts-Giants, 14.7/23 (Original “Manning Bowl”)

*The NFL Kickoff Opener on Thursday, Sept. 9, 2010 between the Vikings and Saints generated an overnight rating/share of 17.7/28.

DEFEATED ALL SUNDAY NIGHT COMPETITION: Last night’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast defeated all Sunday Night competition for the 14^th time in 14 weeks, on a night that included such original competition as CBS’s 60 Minutes, Amazing Race, Undercover Boss and CSI: Miami, Fox’s Simpsons, Family Guy and American Dad and ABC’s Desperate Housewives and Brothers & Sisters.

• “Sunday Night Football” powered NBC to a Sunday night win in primetime (7-11 p.m.) topping second place CBS (which was aided by an NFL overrun) by 26 percent.  NBC also beat ABC by 103 percent and Fox by 207 percent.

SNF IS 14 FOR 14: When the viewership is available tomorrow from Nielsen, “Sunday Night Football” is expected to be the most-watched Sunday night show for the 14^th consecutive week (every 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). 

TOP MARKETS FOR EAGLES-COWBOYS: 

1. Philadelphia, 38.4/51

2. Dallas, 38.0/55

3. San Antonio, 27.3/39

4. Norfolk, 25.1/35

T5. Richmond, 24.2/36

T5. New Orleans, 24.2/31

7. Austin, 24.0/37

8. Albuquerque, 20.4/30

9. Washington, D.C., 20.1/32

10. Baltimore, 19.7/29

More later.