Brett Favre‘s homecoming drew big ratings on Sunday, but perhaps not quite as big as may have been expected.
NFL coverage featuring the Vikings’ win over the Packers drew an 18.3 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon, up 17% from a 15.6 for Giants/Steelers in Week 8 last year, and the highest overnight rating for a regular season NFL telecast since Steelers/Patriots drew an 18.4 in ’07.
While the 18.3 overnight is strong, FOX will not be setting any ratings records for the heavily hyped game. In 2007 alone, three regular season games drew an 18.4 overnight or higher — and that does not include the Patriots/Giants game in Week 17 of that season, which aired on three separate networks. In 2006, a Giants/Cowboys game on FOX drew a 19.1 overnight rating.
In Minneapolis/St. Paul, the Vikings’ win drew a 47.0/76 rating. The 76 share (meaning 76% of local households with televisions in use were tuned to the game) topped the past three Super Bowls in the market. The game drew a 45.0/70 in Milwaukee.
Earlier in the day, regional coverage featuring Giants/Eagles drew an 11.7 overnight rating, off 2% from an 11.9 for comparable coverage last year, and down 10% from a 13.0 for coverage in the comparable window last week.
Sources: Sports Business Daily, OnMilwaukee.com, MinnPost.com
