The biggest winner in Sunday night’s Eagles/Patriots nail biter was not undefeated New England.
NBC drew its largest regular season NFL overnight since returning to the league in 2006, thanks to the Patriots 31-28 victory over Philadelphia. SNF drew a 15.6/24 overnight, with 19 million viewers from 8:30 to 11:00 PM ET, up 44% and 26%, respectively, from last year. The game peaked with a 17.3 rating during the 11:00 PM half hour. Thanks to the game, NBC won the night among adults 18-49.
The 15.6 rating is the highest for the NFL prime-time package since 2005, when a Monday Night Football game drew a 15.8.
Eagles/Patriots was a rare uptick in a generally mixed season for NBC. Half of the network’s games have seen declines in overnight ratings; still, the 12.0 metered market average through twelve games is even with last season.
2007 NFL on NBC overnights.
13.0/21: Saints/Colts (Thu., 9/6/07); down 4% from ’06.
13.6/22: Giants/Cowboys (Sun., 9/9/07); down 8% from ’06.
11.7/18: Chargers/Patriots (Sun., 9/16/07); down 7% from ’06.
13.7/23: Cowboys/Bears (Sun., 9/23/07); up 28% from ’06.
10.8/17: Eagles/Giants (Sun., 9/30/07); down 8% from ’06.
12.2/20: Bears/Packers (Sun., 10/7/07); up 20% from ’06.
8.4/13: Saints/Seahawks (Sun., 10/14/07); up 4% from ’06.
9.4/14: Steelers/Broncos (Sun., 10/21/07); no comparable game in ’06.
11.5/18: Cowboys/Eagles (Sun., 11/4/07); down 24% from ’06.
12.7/20: Colts/Chargers (Sun., 11/11/07); down 7% from ’06.
10.8/17: Patriots/Bills (Sun., 11/18/07); up 3% from ’06.
15.6/24: Eagles/Patriots (Sun., 11/25/07); up 44% from ’06.
