Burdened by an unappealing matchup, Sunday Night Football stumbled to a season low last week.
The Week 6 Vikings/Bears Sunday Night Football game earned a 10.1 final rating and 16.568 million viewers on NBC, down 14% in ratings and 13% in viewership from Week 6 last year (IND/WSH: 11.7, 19.115M), and down 7% and 9%, respectively, from Week 6 in 2009 (ATL/CHI: 10.9, 18.170M).
The telecast, which featured two teams with losing records, ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed SNF telecast since Week 17 in the 2009-10 season (NYJ/CIN: 10.0, 16.333M).
For the week, the Bears’ win ranked as the #4 primetime program of the week on broadcast in household ratings and viewership. The game did lead the week among adults 18-49 (6.6).
Through Week 6, NBC has averaged a 13.3 rating and 22.2 million viewers for regular season NFL coverage (seven telecasts), up 3% in ratings and 4% in viewership from last year (12.9, 21.4M), and up 12% and 13%, respectively, from 2009 (11.9, 19.7M).
This marks the highest average viewership for NBC at this point in the season since the network resumed airing NFL games during the 2006-07 season.
(This year’s numbers from Nielsen; NBC Sports Group press release via Fang’s Bites; TV By the Numbers)
