For the second time in a week, a nationally televised NFL preseason game topped the most heated rivalry in baseball.
Thursday’s Cardinals/Steelers NFL preseason tilt drew a 3.1 U.S. rating (3.6 cable) and 4.8 million viewers on ESPN, up 29% in ratings and 30% in viewers from a 2.4 (2.9) and 3.7 million for Saints/Cardinals on the comparable date last year.
Excluding Monday night games, this marks the most-viewed NFL preseason game on ESPN since 1994.
To put the numbers in perspective, Cardinals/Steelers outdrew a Red Sox/Yankees game on ESPN the previous Sunday in both ratings (3.1 to 3.0) and viewership (4.8 million to 4.7 million). The game also outdrew a Red Sox/Yankees game on FOX the previous Saturday.
