or


[09/09/11 - 08:04 AM]
NFL Kickoff on NBC Scores Second-Best NFL Primetime Regular-Season Overnight in 13 Years
NBC spins the numbers for Thursday, September 8.
[via press release from NBC]

NFL KICKOFF ON NBC SCORES SECOND-BEST NFL PRIMETIME REGULAR-SEASON OVERNIGHT IN 13 YEARS

Packers-Saints 17.2/28 Overnight is Second-Best NFL Kickoff Game Ever & Second-Best NBC Primetime NFL Game Ever NBC Dominates Primetime Competition

NEW YORK - Sept. 9, 2011 - Last night's NFL Kickoff game on NBC between the Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints was the second-highest rated NFL regular-season primetime game in 13 years; the second-highest rated NFL Kickoff game ever; the second-highest rated NBC regular-season primetime game ever; and defeated its closest primetime competition among the broadcast networks by 283 percent, according to overnight ratings data released today by The Nielsen Company.

The game, which featured the last two Super Bowl champions and was won by the Packers, 42-34, scored a 17.2 overnight rating/28 share (8:45-11:45 p.m. ET), the second-highest regular-season primetime NFL rating on any network since Dec. 21, 1998 (Broncos-Dolphins, 17.4/27). It was also the second-highest rated NFL Kickoff ever and the second-highest rated NBC regular-season primetime game ever behind only last year's Thursday night NFL Kickoff (17.7/28; down 3%), which featured a NFC Championship Game rematch between the Minnesota Vikings, led by quarterback Brett Favre, and the then-defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints.

The rating peaked just before halftime with an 18.8/29 from 9:30-10 p.m. The Packers rotated between eight- and 15-point leads for the entire second half.

NBC DOMINATES PRIMETIME: NBC dominated primetime (8-11 p.m.) with a 16.1/26 average in the metered markets, establishing a 283-percent margin of victory over CBS's second-place 4.2/7 and beating the combined delivery of CBS, ABC (3.3/5), Fox (2.5/4) and CW (0.7/1) by 50 percent.

The 16.1/26 primetime overnight is the highest 8-11 p.m. average for any network on television since May 25 (Fox, American Idol finale, 17.1/27) and the highest non-Olympic Thursday night average for NBC since the Frasier finale more than seven years ago, May 13, 2004 (17.4/25), even topping the primetime average for last year's NFL Kickoff (15.9/26)

The final half hour of NFL Kickoff 2011 (8-8:30 pm), the pregame show to celebrate the start of the NFL season, generated a 9.4 overnight rating, up 11 percent versus last year (8.5/15).

NFL KICKOFF - THURSDAY NIGHT SEASON OPENERS OVERNIGHT RATINGS:
2011: NBC 17.2/28 (Green Bay 42 - New Orleans 34)
2010: NBC 17.7/28 (New Orleans 14 - Minnesota 9)
2009: NBC 13.8/23 (Pittsburgh 13 - Tennessee 10)
2008: NBC 10.1/17 (NY Giants 16 - Washington 7)*
2007: NBC 13.0/21 (Indianapolis 41 - New Orleans 10)
2006: NBC 13.5/22 (Pittsburgh 28 - Miami 17)
2005: ABC 13.1/22 (New England 30 - Oakland 20)
2004: ABC 12.6/20 (New England 27 - Indianapolis 24)
2003: ABC 14.5/23 (Washington 16 - NY Jets 13)
2002: ESPN 7.6/13 (Houston 19 - Dallas 10)**
*Early start due to the Republican National Convention
**U.S. HH Rating: overnight rating not available

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR SAINTS-PACKERS:
1. New Orleans, 57.7/75
2. Milwaukee, 53.1/71
3. Minneapolis, 23.8/39
4. Kansas City, 23.0/34
5. Nashville, 22.6/32
6. Indianapolis, 22.2/34
7. Baltimore, 22.1/35
8. Las Vegas, 21.7/33
9. Washington, 21.2/35
10. Chicago, 21.2/33





  [september 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[09/17/25 - 03:14 PM]
Buccaneers at Texans Delivers 17.4 Million Viewers, ESPN's Most-Watched "MNF" Week 2 Game Since 2008
Additionally, the Buccaneers-Texans is ESPN's most-watched individual game on weeks with multiple "MNF" games, whether a true doubleheader or two games with staggered start times.
[09/16/25 - 03:39 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" and College Football on ESPN/ABC Both Off to Stellar Starts in 2025
ABC is off to its best three-week start ever, averaging 7.8 million viewers per game.
[09/16/25 - 03:02 PM]
"20/20" Is the No. 1 Program Across Broadcast and Cable on Friday Night
"20/20" ranked as the No. 1 broadcast program on Friday night in Total Viewers (2.457 million).
[09/16/25 - 03:01 PM]
ABC News' "Nightline" Ranks No. 1 in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49, Leading CBS' "After Midnight" and NBC's "Late Night with Seth Meyers" in All Three Measures
For the 2nd week in a row, "Nightline" improved on the previous week in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[09/16/25 - 02:45 PM]
FOX NFL Smashes All-Time Viewership Records with Week 2 Super Bowl Rematch
A massive 33.8 million viewers delivers FOX Sports its best-ever regular season Sunday telecast, most-watched Week 2 NFL telecast on record and more all-time viewership highs!
[09/16/25 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10 Week of September 8: "Canelo vs. Crawford" Packs a Punch, "Wednesday" Season 2 Joins Most Popular List
In movies, "KPop Demon Hunters" danced its way back to No. 1 on the English Film list with 22.6 million views.
[09/15/25 - 03:25 PM]
Over 41 Million Global Viewers on Netflix Watch Terence Crawford Defeat Canelo Alvarez to Claim Super Middleweight Championship
The main event scored an estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 36.6 million live+SD viewers from opening to closing bell, per VideoAmp and Netflix.
[09/15/25 - 11:45 AM]
The "77th Emmy Awards" Delivers Its Largest Television Audience Since 2021, Up +8% from Last Year
Hosted by Nate Bargatze, the telecast was seen by more than 7.42 million viewers on the CBS Television Network and streaming on Paramount+.

[09/12/25 - 02:43 PM]
"The Groomsmen: First Look" Launches Hallmark Channel's "Fall Into Love" Seasonal Stunt with Chart-Topping Ratings
The film was the #1 most-watched entertainment cable program on Saturday among Households, Women 18+, Persons 18+, and Total Viewers.
[09/12/25 - 05:31 AM]
ESPN Networks Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Regular Season Ever
ESPN networks aired eight of the top 10 most-watched WNBA games during the 2025 season, highlighted by its most-watched WNBA game ever - 2.7 million viewers for Chicago Sky at Indiana Fever on May 17 (ABC).
[09/10/25 - 02:09 PM]
ESPN Delivers Most Viewed Tennis Telecast of the Year and Most Viewed US Open Since 2022
The Men's Championship averaged 3 million viewers on ABC, up 82% vs. 2024 while the Women's Championship averaged 2.4 million on ESPN, up 50% vs. 2024.
[09/09/25 - 03:43 PM]
On Pace for Record Year, ESPN Formula 1 Viewership Earns 10th Event High of '25 Season
F1 races are averaging 1.4M viewers this season across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, ahead of the all-time series record average of 1.21M that was set in 2022.
[09/09/25 - 03:29 PM]
ABC Scores Three of the Top Four Best Audiences of College Football's Week 2; "College GameDay" Delivers Second Most-Watched Regular Season Show on Record
Michigan/Oklahoma (9.7 million viewers) was ABC's most-viewed Week 2 game since 2006.
[09/09/25 - 03:17 PM]
FOX's "Big Noon Saturday" & "Big Noon Kickoff" Up Big Through Week 2
Iowa-Iowa State scored 4,278,000 viewers on FOX, most-watched game in the noon window.
[09/09/25 - 02:26 PM]
NBC Sports Posts Largest Two-Game NFL Kickoff Weekend Audience in a Decade & Second Best All-Time, Averaging 26.5 Million Viewers Across NBC & Peacock
NBC's 2025 NFL Kickoff Weekend average viewership trailed only 2015, as Steelers-Patriots in NFL Kickoff '15 and Cowboys-Giants in the Sunday night opener averaged 27.2 million viewers.