You are here: Home » Featured »

2011 Numbers Game (100 Most-Viewed Sports Telecasts of the Year)

December 30, 2011 9:00 AM 2 comments

Share this Article

Author:

Tags:

Presented are the 100 most-viewed sporting events of 2011 on broadcast and cable.

An astounding 75 of the 100 most-viewed events of the year were NFL games, including the top eighteen. Keep in mind this does not include Week 15 and Week 16 games on FOX and CBS (six telecasts combined), as final ratings and viewership for those events were not immediately available.

Of the mere 25 non-NFL sporting events to make the list, six were NBA games (all during the NBA Finals), six were Major League Baseball games (all during the World Series), six were NCAA Tournament telecasts, and four were college football games (three BCS bowls and LSU/Alabama in November). The remaining three events were the Daytona 500 (8.7, 15.597M), the final round of The Masters (9.5, 15.257M), and the race portion of the Kentucky Derby (8.5, 14.539M).

The top college football game ranked 18th (AUB/ORE: 15.3, 27.316M), the top Major League Baseball game ranked 24th (TEX/STL G7: 14.7, 25.403M), the top NBA game ranked 30th (DAL/MIA G6: 13.3, 23.880M), and the top college basketball game ranked 49th (CONN/BUT: 11.7, 20.055M).

100 Most-Viewed Sporting Events of 2011
* Featured games not available for CBS singleheader and regional telecasts.

#
Date
Sport
Game/Event
Net
U.S. Rating
Viewers (000)
1
 Sun., 2/6/11
NFL
 Super Bowl: GB 31, PIT 25 FOX
46.0
111,010
2
 Sun., 1/23/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: NYJ 19, PIT 24 CBS
28.3
54,850
3
 Sun., 1/23/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: GB 21, CHI 14 FOX
28.1
51,884
4
 Sun., 1/16/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: NYJ 28, NE 21 CBS
24.2
43,463
5
 Sun., 1/9/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: GB 21, PHI 16 FOX
22.1
39,274
6
 Sat., 1/15/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: BAL 24, PIT 31 CBS
19.4
34,009
7
 Sat., 1/8/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: NYJ 17, IND 16 NBC
18.7
33,350
8
 Sun., 1/16/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: SEA 24, CHI 35 FOX
19.1
32,493
9
 Thu., 11/24/11
NFL
 Regular Season: MIA 19, DAL 20 CBS
14.3
30,901
10
 Sat., 1/15/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: GB 48, ATL 21 FOX
17.0
30,569
11
 Thu., 11/24/11
NFL
 Regular Season: GB 27, DET 15 FOX
14.8
30,171
12
 Sun., 12/4/11
NFL
 Regular Season: GB 38, NYG 35 (77%) FOX
17.6
29,774
13
 Sun., 10/16/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DAL 16, NE 20 (88%) FOX
17.1
28,443
14
 Sun., 1/9/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: BAL 30, KC 7 CBS
17.1
28,384
15
 Sat., 1/8/11
NFL
 NFL Playoffs: NO 36, SEA 41 FOX
16.8
28,304
16
 Sun., 11/6/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NYG 24, NE 20 (55%) FOX
16.7
28,213
17
 Thu., 9/8/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NO 34, GB 42 NBC
16.0
27,169
18
 Mon., 1/10/11
NCAAF
 BCS Champ.: AUB 22, ORE 19 ESPN
15.3
27,316
19
 Sun., 11/27/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NE 38, PHI 20 (72%) CBS
15.5
26,246
20
 Sun., 1/2/11
NFL
 Regular Season: CHI 3, GB 10 (56%) FOX
14.7
26,147
21
 Sun., 11/13/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NYG 20, SF 27 (70%) FOX
15.6
25,938
22
 Sun., 9/11/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NYG 14, WSH 28 (63%) FOX
15.3
25,802
23
 Sun., 9/11/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DAL 24, NYJ 27 NBC
15.3
25,766
24
 Fri., 10/28/11
MLB
 World Series: TEX 2, STL 6 FOX
14.7
25,403
25
 Sun., 10/30/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NE 17, PIT 25 (85%) CBS
14.6
24,564
26
 Sun., 12/11/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NYG 37, DAL 34 NBC
14.9
24,516
27
 Sun., 10/23/11
NFL
 Regular Season: GB 33, MIN 27 (83%) FOX
14.6
24,267
28
 Sun., 12/25/11
NFL
 Regular Season: CHI 21, GB 35 NBC
12.6
24,019
29
 Sun., 9/25/11
NFL
 Regular Season: GB 27, CHI 17 (81%) FOX
14.1
23,995
30
 Sun., 6/12/11
NBA
 NBA Finals: DAL 105, MIA 95 ABC
13.3
23,880
31
 Sun., 9/18/11
NFL
 Regular Season: PHI 31, ATL 35 NBC
14.3
23,424
32
 Sun., 10/2/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DET 34, DAL 30 (35%) FOX
14.0
23,308
33
 Sun., 10/2/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DEN 23, GB 49 (59%) CBS
13.6
23,014
34
 Sun., 10/30/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DAL 7, PHI 34 NBC
13.8
22,994
35
 Sun., 9/18/11
NFL
 Regular Season: SD 21, NE 35 (74%) CBS
13.3
22,662
36
 Sun., 10/9/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NYJ 21, NE 30 (81%) CBS
13.6
22,598
37
 Sun., 9/18/11
NFL
 Regular Season: CHI 13, NO 30 (38%) FOX
13.2
22,530
38
 Sun., 12/11/11
NFL
 Regular Season: CHI 10, DEN 13 (42%) FOX
13.6
22,207
39
 Sun., 11/6/11
NFL
 Regular Season: BAL 23, PIT 20 NBC
13.3
22,121
40
 Sun., 10/9/11
NFL
 Regular Season: GB 25, ATL 14 NBC
13.4
22,046
41
 Sun., 11/20/11
NFL
 Regular Season: SD 20, CHI 31 (79%) CBS
13.0
21,462
42
 Thu., 10/27/11
MLB
 World Series: TEX 9, STL 10 FOX
12.7
21,065
43
 Sun., 11/13/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NE 37, NYJ 16 NBC
12.9
20,918
44
 Sun., 12/11/11
NFL
 Regular Season: National Window CBS
12.7
20,789
45
 Sat., 1/1/11
NCAAF
 Rose Bowl: TCU 21, WISC 19 ESPN
11.3
20,558
46
 Sun., 9/25/11
NFL
 Regular Season: PIT 23, IND 20 NBC
12.2
20,357
47
 Sun., 11/27/11
NFL
 Regular Season: PIT 13, KC 9 NBC
12.3
20,344
48
 Sun., 11/20/11
NFL
 Regular Season: PHI 17, NYG 10 NBC
12.5
20,305
49
 Mon., 4/4/11
NCAAB
 Final Four: CONN 53, BUT 41 CBS
11.7
20,055
50
 Sun., 11/20/11
NFL
 Regular Season: TB 26, GB 35 (39%) FOX
12.2
20,025
51
 Sat., 11/5/11
NCAAF
 Regular Season: LSU 9, ALA 6 CBS
11.5
20,011
52
 Sun., 1/2/11
NFL
 Regular Season: STL 6, SEA 16 NBC
11.3
19,357
53
 Sun., 12/4/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Singleheader CBS
11.5
19,010
54
 Sun., 11/13/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Singleheader CBS
11.5
19,003
55
 Sun., 10/2/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NYJ 17, BAL 34 NBC
11.5
18,900
56
 Sun., 9/25/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Singleheader CBS
11.5
18,898
57
 Sun., 12/4/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DET 17, NO 31 NBC
11.5
18,896
58
 Thu., 6/9/11
NBA
 NBA Finals: MIA 103, DAL 112 ABC
10.8
18,318
59
 Sun., 11/27/11
NFL
 Regular Season: CHI 20, OAK 25 (40%) FOX
10.4
17,245
60
 Sun., 10/16/11
NFL
 Regular Season: SF 25, DET 19 (33%) FOX
10.5
17,201
61
 Sun., 10/30/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DET 45, DEN 10 (29%) FOX
10.3
17,110
62
 Mon., 9/26/11
NFL
 Regular Season: WSH 16, DAL 18 ESPN
10.6
17,104
63
 Mon., 11/7/11
NFL
 Regular Season: CHI 30, PHI 24 ESPN
10.7
16,847
64
 Sun., 1/2/11
NFL
 Regular Season: TEN 20, IND 23 (71%) CBS
9.7
16,766
65
 Sat., 4/2/11
NCAAB
 Final Four: CONN 56, UK 55 CBS
9.5
16,715
66
 Mon., 12/19/11
NFL
 Regular Season: PIT 3, SF 20 ESPN
10.1
16,677
67
 Sun., 12/18/11
NFL
 Regular Season: BAL 14, SD 34 NBC
10.1
16,578
68
 Sun., 10/16/11
NFL
 Regular Season: MIN 10, CHI 39 NBC
10.1
16,568
69
 Mon., 10/10/11
NFL
 Regular Season: CHI 13, DET 24 ESPN
10.3
16,378
70
 Sun., 11/6/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Singleheader CBS
9.8
16,160
71
 Tue., 6/7/11
NBA
 NBA Finals: MIA 83, DAL 86 ABC
9.6
16,126
72
 Sun., 1/2/11
NFL
 Regular Season: TB 23, NO 13 (70%) FOX
9.6
16,083
73
 Sun., 10/9/11
NFL
 Regular Season: PHI 24, BUF 31 (29%) FOX
9.9
16,006
74
 Sun., 3/20/11
NCAAB
 NCAA Rd. 3: OSU 98, GMU 66
CBS
9.9
15,886
NCAA Rd. 3: ARIZ 70, TEX 69 TNT
NCAA Rd. 3: VCU 94, PUR 76 TBS
75
 Sun., 10/23/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Singleheader CBS
9.7
15,803
76
 Mon., 12/26/11
NFL
 Regular Season: ATL 16, NO 45 ESPN
9.2
15,638
77
 Sun., 2/20/11
NASCAR
 Sprint Cup: Daytona 500 FOX
8.7
15,597
78
 Sun., 11/27/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Regional CBS
9.9
15,568
79
 Thu., 6/2/11
NBA
 NBA Finals: DAL 95, MIA 93 ABC
9.3
15,522
80
 Sun., 9/11/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Singleheader CBS
9.1
15,496
81
 Sun., 6/5/11
NBA
 NBA Finals: MIA 88, DAL 86 ABC
9.1
15,338
82
 Sun., 4/10/11
Golf (M)
 The Masters: Final Round CBS
9.5
15,257
83
 Tue., 5/31/11
NBA
 NBA Finals: DAL 84, MIA 92 ABC
9.0
15,171
84
 Sun., 10/23/11
MLB
 World Series: STL 0, TEX 4 FOX
9.2
15,156
85
 Sun., 3/27/11
NCAAB
 Elite Eight: UK 76, UNC 69 CBS
8.9
15,082
86
 Mon., 9/12/11
NFL
 Regular Season: MIA 38, NE 24 ESPN
9.1
14,568
87
 Sat., 5/7/11
Horse
 Kentucky Derby, Race Portion NBC
8.5
14,539
88
 Sun., 12/11/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Regional CBS
9.3
14,535
89
 Sun., 10/16/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Singleheader CBS
8.8
14,533
90
 Sun., 12/4/11
NFL
 Regular Season: DEN 35, MIN 32 (61%) FOX
8.8
14,453
91
 Mon., 11/28/11
NFL
 Regular Season: NYG 24, NO 49 ESPN
9.3
14,423
92
 Mon., 10/24/11
MLB
 World Series: STL 2, TEX 4 FOX
8.8
14,324
93
 Thu., 10/20/11
MLB
 World Series: TEX 2, STL 1 FOX
8.9
14,280
94
 Sun., 11/6/11
NFL
 Regular Season: TB 16, NO 27 (41%) FOX
8.6
14,194
95
 Sat., 4/2/11
NCAAB
 Final Four: BUT 70, VCU 62 CBS
8.3
14,189
96
 Mon., 11/14/11
NFL
 Regular Season: MIN 7, GB 45 ESPN
8.7
14,188
97
 Wed., 10/19/11
MLB
 World Series: TEX 2, STL 3 FOX
8.7
14,174
98
 Sun., 10/30/11
NFL
 Regular Season: Regional CBS
9.1
13,942
99
 Fri., 3/25/11
NCAAB
 Sweet Sixteen: UK 62, OSU 60 CBS
8.4
13,824
Sweet Sixteen: VCU 72, FSU 71 TBS
100
 Tue., 1/4/11
NCAAF
 Sugar Bowl: OSU 31, ARK 26 ESPN
8.2
13,635

  • Nsbombers

    Where is the ratings for the N.E/Den game?

    • Paulsen

      Haven’t seen the final ratings/viewership for the Week 15 and 16 games on FOX and CBS yet. If I get those numbers, I’ll add them to the list.

Latest Posts

  • College football ESPN Featured NBC Sports Network Olympics Other sports olympicsnbc

    Idle Notes: NBCSN Leads Cable Outlets With Olympic Coverage (Also: ACC Title Game, Nathan’s Hot Dog Contest)

    NBC Sports Network will have the heaviest Olympic schedule of the various NBC Universal cable networks. In other news, the ACC title game could move back to ABC, and the Nathan’s Hot Dog Eating Contest will get a later start due to Wimbledon. NBCSN to Air Over 200 Hours of Olympic Coverage: NBC Sports Network will televise over 257 hours of the 2012 London Olympics this summer, the most of the various NBC Universal cable outlets. Coverage on NBCSN will [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured NBC Sports Network NHL Ratings stanleycup

    Stanley Cup Playoffs: More Declines For NHL Conference Finals

    Despite featuring big market teams, three of the first four NHL conference final games have suffered declines in viewership compared to last year. Game 2 of the Devils/Rangers NHL Eastern Conference final drew 1.342 million viewers on NBC Sports Network Wednesday night, down 14% from Bruins/Lightning Game 2 on a Tuesday night last year (1.562M), but up 9% from Canadiens/Flyers Game 2 on a Tuesday night in 2010 (1.228M). Wednesday’s game was also down 22% from Hurricanes/Penguins Game 2 on [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured NBA Ratings Turner Sports nbaplayoffstnt

    NBA Playoffs: Lakers/Thunder Hits Playoff High; Celtics/Sixers Down Again

    The Lakers/Thunder series attracted another big audience Tuesday night. Game 2 of the Lakers/Thunder second round NBA playoff series drew 7.445 million viewers on TNT Wednesday night, up 6% from Mavericks/Lakers Game 2 in a later timeslot last year (7.036M), and up 86% from Spurs/Suns Game 2 in 2010 (3.999M). The game ranks as the most-viewed telecast of the playoffs on any network, topping Heat/Knicks Game 4 on ABC in the first round (7.013M). Of the 29 NBA playoff telecasts [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured MLB MLB Network Turner Sports mlbtbs

    New MLB Wild Card Games to Air on TBS; MLB Network to Get Two Division Series Games

    TBS has gained the rights to the new MLB Wild Card games for the next two seasons, but will lose a pair of Division Series contests to MLB Network. The new Major League Baseball Wild Card games will air on TBS for the next two seasons, it was announced Thursday. Under the new MLB playoff format that begins this season, there will be two Wild Card teams in each league who play in a one-game playoff to advance to the [...]

    Read more →
  • Comcast ESPN Featured FSN FX Int'l Soccer NASCAR NBA Ratings Speed Channel epl

    TV Ratings: 1.3 Million For EPL ‘Survival Sunday’ (Also: Sixers Ratings, NASCAR Nationwide Series)

    The English Premier League ‘Survival Sunday’ attracted over one million viewers across a variety of networks Sunday. In other news, just over 4% of Philadelphia TV homes watched the Sixers finish off the Bulls, and Friday’s Nationwide Series race had a double-digit rise in viewership. 1.3 Million Viewers For ‘Survival Sunday’: Coverage of the English Premier League ‘Survival Sunday’ — featuring ten concurrent matches on eight networks and two digital outlets — combined for 1.348 million viewers across FX, Fox [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured NBA Ratings Turner Sports nbaplayoffstnt

    NBA Playoffs: Another Big Drop For Pacers/Heat; Clippers/Spurs Opener Up

    Viewership dropped by more than a quarter for the second game of the Pacers/Heat series. Game 2 of the Pacers/Heat second round NBA playoff series drew 4.457 million viewers on TNT Tuesday night, down 26% from Celtics/Heat Game 2 last year (6.006M), but up 50% from Hawks/Magic Game 1 in 2010 (2.977). Preliminary overnight ratings for Sunday’s Game 1 on ABC were also down 26% compared to last year’s Celtics/Heat series. Later in the night, Game 1 of the Clippers/Spurs [...]

    Read more →
  • Broadcasters ESPN Featured Olympics SportsCenter olympicsnbc

    Big Names: Tilghman to Host Olympics For MSNBC (Also: ESPN’s Bonner, Beadle, Exit)

    Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman will host coverage of the Olympics for MSNBC. In other news, ESPN’s Michelle Bonner and Michelle Beadle are leaving the network. A Long Way From the ‘Back Alley’: Golf Channel anchor Kelly Tilghman will host coverage of the 2012 Olympic Games for the MSNBC cable news network, it was announced Wednesday. The 2012 Olympics will be the first such assignment for Tilghman. Also hosting Olympic coverage for NBC Universal will be former CBS Sports broadcaster [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured Golf (M) Local NBA NHL Ratings The Golf Channel golfchannel

    TV Ratings: Golf Channel Sets Record For TPC Friday (Also: Record Local Ratings For NHL in N.Y., NBA in OKC)

    The Players Championship earned a record audience on The Golf Channel Friday. In other news, the NHL and NBA playoffs set local ratings records in New York and Oklahoma City, respectively. Record Numbers For TPC on TGC Friday: Friday’s second round coverage of The Players Championship drew 1.804 million viewers on The Golf Channel, the largest audience on record (dates back to ’95) for early round coverage of the event. First round action on Thursday drew 1.126 million, up 5% [...]

    Read more →
  • FOX NASCAR Ratings sprintcup

    Sprint Cup: Final Rating For Talladega Race Second-Lowest Since ’98

    Ratings for the recent NASCAR race from Talladega were quite strong, but remained low historically. The May 6 NASCAR Sprint Cup Aaron’s 499 from Talladega drew a 5.1 final rating, down a tick from both last year and 2010 (5.2). Excluding rainouts, the 5.1 rating is the second-lowest for the spring Talladega race since it returned to broadcast television in 1998. As recently as 2005, the race drew a comparably massive 7.6 rating. That was part of a stretch from [...]

    Read more →
  • Featured NBA Ratings Turner Sports nbaplayoffstnt

    NBA Playoffs: Strong Start For Lakers/Thunder; Sixers/Celtics a Dud

    Even in a blowout, the highly-anticipated Lakers/Thunder series attracted strong numbers for TNT. Game 1 of the Lakers/Thunder second round NBA playoff series drew 6.687 million viewers on TNT Monday night, up 4% from Mavericks/Lakers Game 1 last year (6.429M), and up 63% from Spurs/Suns Game 1 in 2010 (4.110M). The game earned the largest audience of the playoffs on cable, topping Nuggets/Lakers Game 7 two nights earlier (6.464M). Of the 25 NBA playoff telecasts on TNT that can be [...]

    Read more →