The behemoth of sports leagues is apparently stronger than ever.
Week 1 of the 2010-11 NFL season averaged 19.5 million viewers across NBC, FOX, CBS and ESPN, the highest average for the opening weekend of the NFL season since 1987.
The weekend featured the most-viewed Week 1 doubleheader ever on FOX (dates back to ’94), the most-viewed Week 1 doubleheader ever on ESPN (dates back to ’06), the two most-viewed primetime regular season games ever on NBC (dates back to ’06), the most-viewed NFL Kickoff Game ever (dates back to ’02), and the highest rated Week 1 telecast on CBS since 2000.
Three of the seven games drew at least 25 million viewers, the most for a single week since Week 14 in 1991. To put that in perspective, as recently as 2008 only three games all season drew at least 25 million.
The NFL also had its three most-viewed Week 1 games ever among women and its two most-viewed Week 1 games among Hispanics.
To put the numbers in perspective, the 19.5 million viewers for Week 1 of the NFL season tops the averages for the 2009 World Series (19.4 mil) and 2010 NBA Finals (18.1 mil).
Ratings For Week 1 of the NFL Season Since 1999
| Year | Thu. | Sun. | Mon. | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kickoff | Early FOX | Early CBS | Nat’l Window | SNF | MNF Early | MNF Late | |
| 2010 |
16.5
|
8.1
|
9.7
|
16.5
|
15.0
|
9.4
|
7.6
|
| 2009 |
12.8
|
8.6
|
7.1
|
14.8
|
12.6
|
8.9
|
7.6
|
| 2008 |
8.6
|
5.1
|
9.4
|
13.0
|
11.2
|
7.9
|
6.2
|
| 2007 |
11.5
|
6.5
|
9.4
|
13.6
|
11.6
|
7.3
|
5.8
|
| 2006 |
12.6
|
7.5
|
8.1
|
14.3
|
14.3
|
8.2
|
7.0
|
| 2005 |
11.7
|
6.9
|
7.4
|
13.6
|
7.4
|
13.0
|
no game
|
| 2004 |
11.4
|
6.5
|
7.9
|
13.5
|
6.9
|
12.5
|
|
| 2003 |
12.9
|
6.8
|
8.5
|
12.5
|
7.2
|
13.0
|
|
| 2002 |
7.6
|
8.5
|
7.5
|
13.2
|
7.8
|
12.8
|
|
| 2001 |
no game
|
8.7
|
8.8
|
12.6
|
6.2
|
13.2
|
|
| 2000 |
11.6
|
6.2
|
9.9
|
6.5
|
15.3
|
||
| 1999 |
6.8
|
11.1
|
13.4
|
7.3
|
16.1
|
||
