Though not a surprise, considering how much the NFL dominates Major League Baseball (and all other sports), Sunday Night Football trounced Game 2 of the NLCS head-to-head.
NBC earned a 13.2 overnight rating for Sunday’s Colts/Washington game, up 10% from Week 6 last year (CHI/ATL: 12.0) and up 40% from Week 6 in 2008 (NE/SD: 9.4).
The 13.2 overnight is the third-lowest of the season for SNF (seven telecasts), ahead of Jets/Dolphins in Week 3 (13.0) and Eagles/49ers last week (11.7).
That said, this marks the highest overnight for a primetime NFL telecast opposite the MLB League Championship Series since October 1997 (DAL/WSH: 16.4). That 1997 game aired opposite Orioles/Indians Game 5 on FOX, which drew an 11.1 overnight.
This year’s LCS competition — Giants/Phillies Game 2 — was less formidable in the ratings, drawing a 6.5 overnight. Keep in mind that Cablevision subscribers, primarily in the New York market, were unable to watch Sunday’s NLCS game due to a dispute between Cablevision and FOX parent company News Corporation.
Last year, Sunday Night Football had mixed results in two outings against the League Championship Series, crushing Dodgers/Phillies Game 3 (NFL 12.0, MLB 3.7) and falling to Angels/Yankees Game 6 one week later (MLB 11.4, NFL 10.4)
Indianapolis was the top market for Sunday’s game, with a 43.8 rating. Washington, D.C., finished a fairly distant second, with a 30.4. Richmond, VA (24.0), Norfolk, VA (23.1) and New Orleans (22.6) rounded out the top five.
(NBC press release from TV By The Numbers)
