or


[01/07/08 - 10:27 AM]
Best Rating for Wild Card Saturday in 4 Years
NBC spins the numbers for Saturday, January 5.
[via press release from NBC]

BEST RATING FOR WILD CARD SATURDAY IN 4 YEARS

NBC SCORES BEST NFL WILD CARD SATURDAY IN 4 YEARS

NEW YORK � Jan 6, 2008 � NBC Sports scored the best overnight rating for an NFL Wild Card Saturday in four years. NBC's Wild Card Saturday, featuring Washington-Seattle in the afternoon and Jacksonville-Pittsburgh in primetime, averaged a 16.1 overnight rating and 28 share � the best overnight rating for an NFL Wild Card Saturday in four years (2005 on ABC: St. Louis-Seattle in afternoon and NY Jets-San Diego in primetime, 16.5/28).

The 16.1 overnight rating is also a three percent improvement over the 15.6/28 average for the two Wild Card Saturday games last year (Kansas City-Indianapolis in afternoon and Dallas-Seattle in primetime).

Gm 1: BEST OVERNIGHT RATING IN 3 YEARS

The afternoon Wild Card Saturday game (Redskins-Seahawks) was the best overnight rating for that game in three years. The Seahawks 35-14 home victory over the Redskins earned a 15.4 overnight rating and 29 share, the best for an afternoon Wild Card Saturday game in three years (2006 on ABC: Redskins-Buccaneers, 15.7/30). The 15.4 overnight rating was also a 12 percent improvement over last year's afternoon Wild Card game (Chiefs-Colts on NBC,13.8/27). The overnight rating peaked with a 17.5/31 from 7-7:30 p.m. ET as the Seahawks sealed their victory.

Gm. 1 Top 10 Markets:
1. Seattle: 35.8/70
2. Washington DC: 33.8/58
3. Richmond: 23.8/36
4. Jacksonville: 22.4/35
5. Portland: 19.9/42
6. Milwaukee: 19.2/32
7. Indianapolis: 18.8/33
8. Fort Meyers: 18.1/30
9. Charlotte: 17.6/31
10. Nashville: 17.0/27

Gm 2: 16.7 OVERNIGHT RATING

The primetime Wild Card Saturday game (Jaguars-Steelers) earned a 16.7 overnight rating and 27 share, practically even with last year's epic primetime Cowboys-Seahawks game that saw the Seahawks win as Tony Romo was stopped short of the goal line after the Cowboys' botched last-second game-winning field goal attempt. The 16.7 overnight rating was just three percent off the 17.2/28 for that game in the same timeslot last year. The overnight rating peaked with a 20.6/35 from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET during Jacksonville's drive that resulted in the game-winning field goal.

Gm 2 Top 10 Markets:
1. Pittsburgh: 45.8/62
2. Jacksonville: 40.5/57
3. Indianapolis: 22.7/35
4. Tampa: 22.1/34
5. San Diego: 21.4/35
6. Norfolk: 21.3/31
7t. Nashville: 21.1/31
7t. Richmond: 21.1/30
9. Cleveland: 20.3/33
10t. Baltimore: 19.8/30
10t. Las Vegas: 19.8/29

* * *

NBC Sports' football coverage dominated the ratings on the day, the next best sports overnight rating to NBC's NFL Wild Card Saturday programming was NBC's coverage of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl which earned a 1.8/4 overnight rating from 1-4 p.m. ET. The game doubled the rating of the competing high school football all-star game on ABC, which earned a 0.9/2, from 2-4 p.m. ET.

[EDITOR'S NOTE: What follows is the afternoon update with the final national Nielsen ratings.]

NBC's WILD CARD WINS WITH BEST PRIMETIME OVERNIGHT SINCE THE AMERICAN IDOL FINALE

NBC Scores Best Wild Card Saturday in 4 Years

NEW YORK � January 7, 2008 � NBC Sports coverage of Saturday night's Jacksonville Jaguars-Pittsburgh Steelers NFL Wild Card Playoff game earned NBC the best overnight primetime average for any broadcast network on any night since the American Idol Finale on Wednesday, May 23, 2007 on Fox. NBC also outscored the other three broadcast networks combined in overnight averages in primetime on Saturday night. The Jaguars-Steelers game (8:15-11:45) dominated the night with a 16.7 overnight rating and 27 share and a 15.8/25 in traditional primetime (8-11 p.m. ET).

NBC Sports also scored the best overnight rating for an NFL Wild Card Saturday in four years. NBC's Wild Card Saturday, featuring Washington-Seattle in the afternoon and Jacksonville-Pittsburgh in primetime, averaged a 16.1 overnight rating and 28 share � the best overnight rating for an NFL Wild Card Saturday in four years (2005 on ABC: St. Louis-Seattle in afternoon and NY Jets-San Diego in primetime, 16.5/28).

The 16.1 overnight rating is also a three percent improvement over the 15.6/28 average for the two Wild Card Saturday games last year (Kansas City-Indianapolis in afternoon and Dallas-Seattle in primetime).

Gm. 1 � Redskins-Seahawks � Top 10 Markets:
1. Seattle: 35.8/70
2. Washington DC: 33.8/58
3. Richmond: 23.8/36
4. Jacksonville: 22.4/35
5. Portland: 19.9/42
6. Milwaukee: 19.2/32
7. Indianapolis: 18.8/33
8. Fort Meyers: 18.1/30
9. Charlotte: 17.6/31
10. Nashville: 17.0/27

Gm. 2 � Jaguars-Steelers � Top 10 Markets:
1. Pittsburgh: 45.8/62
2. Jacksonville: 40.5/57
3. Indianapolis: 22.7/35
4. Tampa: 22.1/34
5. San Diego: 21.4/35
6. Norfolk: 21.3/31
7t. Nashville: 21.1/31
7t. Richmond: 21.1/30
9. Cleveland: 20.3/33
10t. Baltimore: 19.8/30
10t. Las Vegas: 19.8/29

* * *

U.S. ARMY ALL-AMERICAN BOWL DOMINATES COMPETITOR:

NBC Sports' football coverage dominated the ratings on the day, the next best sports overnight rating to NBC's NFL Wild Card Saturday programming was NBC's coverage of the U.S. Army All-American Bowl which earned a 1.8/4 overnight rating from 1-4 p.m. ET. The game doubled the rating of the competing high school football all-star game on ABC, which earned a 0.9/2, from 2-4 p.m. ET.





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