Week 2 of the 2011-12 NFL season produced strong numbers for Fox Sports.
The Week 2 NFL singleheader, featuring Bears/Saints in 38% of TV markets, earned a 13.2 final rating and 22.530 million viewers on FOX Sunday afternoon — up 25% in ratings and 27% in viewership from last year (CHI/DAL*: 10.6, 17.769M), and up 38% and 46%, respectively, from 2009 (NO/PHI: 9.6, 15.411M).
Sunday’s telecast stands as the highest rated, most-viewed singleheader window since Week 16 last year (NYJ/CHI*: 13.7, 24.4M, CBS). Relative to FOX, the telecast was the highest rated singleheader since 1999 (tie) and the most-viewed since 1995.
Of note, the singleheader finished barely behind the Week 2 national window on CBS (SD/NE*: 13.3, 22.662M).
Through the first two weeks of the season, the NFL on FOX is averaging a 12.2 rating and 20.5 million viewers, up 4% in ratings and 5% in viewership from last year (11.7, 19.6M), and a network record for this point in the season.
(This week’s numbers from Nielsen; additional information from Fox Sports Media Group press release via Fang’s Bites)
