Sunday Night Football ratings increased for a second straight week, though warning signs remain among young adults.
Patriots-Lions scored an 11.5 rating and 19.5 million viewers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football over the weekend, up 14% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (Oakland-Washington: 10.1, 17.5M) but down 2% and 6% respectively from 2016 (Bears-Cowboys: 11.7, 20.6M).
The Lions’ upset win delivered NBC’s second-straight increase, joining Giants-Cowboys the previous week. It should be noted that last year’s comparable games did not involve New England or Dallas.
Sunday’s game delivered a 6.4 rating in adults 18-49, up a tick from last year (6.3) but down 16% from 2016 (7.6). It had a 7.6 in adults 25-54 (+5%).
The adults 18-34 demo was a noted exception, pulling a 4.8 rating — down 6% from last year (5.1) and the lowest Week 3 SNF rating in the demo since 2005 on ESPN (3.8). The first three Sunday night games this season have been the lowest rated in A18-34 since ESPN held the rights.
Boston led all markets Sunday with a 31.1 rating, followed by nearby Providence at a 30.5. Detroit ranked third with a 28.0. New Orleans was the top neutral market (19.2), with Washington D.C. rounding out the top five (17.3).
The full list of Week 3 NFL ratings is available here.
[Numbers from Nielsen via Programming Insider 9.25]
