NBC’s Sunday Night Football drew over two million more viewers than Game 4 of the World Series head-to-head Sunday night.
Sunday’s Steelers/Saints game, pitting the last two Super Bowl champions, drew a 10.7 final rating and 18.106 million viewers on NBC. The game outdrew the competing Giants/Rangers Game 4 on FOX by 19% in ratings (10.7 to 9.0) and 17% in viewership (18.106 mil to 15.537 mil).
Steelers/Saints did not just beat Game 4 head to head, but also drew better numbers than every other game in the series (pending the results from Game 5).
This likely marks the first time that the NFL has beaten the World Series head-to-head. The last head-to-head meeting (2002) was a blowout in favor of baseball, as Colts/Washington on ESPN drew a fraction of the numbers of Giants/Angels Game 7 on FOX.
Compared to the last Week 8 Sunday Night Football game (Cowboys/Panthers, 2006), Saints/Steelers was down 5% in ratings, but up 5% in viewership from an 11.2 and 17.331 million viewers.
From 2007-09, NBC did not air Sunday night games during Week 8 of the season, to avoid competing with the World Series. The 2006 Week 8 game was scheduled for the same night as a potential Cardinals/Tigers Game 7.
Steelers/Saints was the third-highest rated, third-most viewed primetime program of the week on broadcast, and topped the charts among adults 18-49 (7.3).
The 7.3 among adults 18-49 trounced Game 4 of the World Series (4.3) by 70%.
Through Week 8, Sunday Night Football is averaging a 12.9 rating and 21.5 million viewers on NBC, up 11% in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year (11.6, 19.1 mil), and up 32% and 35%, respectively, from 2008 (9.8, 15.9 mil).
NBC has aired nine telecasts so far this season, compared to eight through the same point last year and in 2008.
