Sunday’s Christmas night game between the Bears and Packers earned one of NBC’s largest NFL regular season audiences since resuming NFL coverage in 2006.
The Week 16 Bears/Packers Sunday Night Football game drew a 12.6 final rating and just over 24 million viewers on NBC, down 9% in ratings but up 1% in viewership compared to last year’s Week 16 game (MIN/PHI: 13.8, 23.736M), and up 16% and 28%, respectively, from Week 16 in 2009 (DAL/WSH: 10.9, 19.042M).
Keep in mind last year’s Week 16 game was postponed from Sunday night to Tuesday night due to weather.
Sunday’s game ranks as the most-viewed NFL telecast on Christmas Day since 1995 (DAL/ARI: 25.4M, ABC).
In each of the last two years, the NFL Christmas Day game has aired on NFL Network. Last year’s Cowboys/Cardinals game drew a 3.8 and 7.843 million viewers, and Chargers/Titans in 2009 earned a 3.3 and 6.883 million. The last NFL Christmas Day game to air on broadcast television — Eagles/Cowboys on NBC in 2006 — drew a 12.1 final rating and 23.4 million viewers.
Overall, the Packers’ win ranks as the tenth-most viewed NFL telecast on NBC since the network resumed airing games in the 2006-07 season. Four of the top ten games have taken place this season alone.
10 Most-Viewed NFL Telecasts on NBC
Since the network resumed airing games in the 2006-07 season
|
#
|
Date
|
Game
|
Net
|
Rating
|
Viewers (000)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Thu., 9/9/10 | MIN 9, NO 14 | NBC |
16.5
|
27,485
|
|
2
|
Thu., 9/8/11 | NO 34, GB 42 | NBC |
16.0
|
27,169
|
|
3
|
Sun., 9/11/11 | DAL 24, NYJ 27 | NBC |
15.3
|
25,766
|
|
4
|
Sun., 12/12/10 | PHI 30, DAL 27 | NBC |
15.2
|
25,728
|
|
5
|
Sun., 10/24/10 | MIN 24, GB 20 | NBC |
15.4
|
25,675
|
|
6
|
Sun., 9/12/10 | DAL 7, WSH 13 | NBC |
15.0
|
25,262
|
|
7
|
Sun., 9/20/09 | NYG 33, DAL 31 | NBC |
15.1
|
24,817
|
|
8
|
Sun., 12/11/11 | NYG 37, DAL 34 | NBC |
14.9
|
24,516
|
|
9
|
Sun., 12/19/10 | GB 27, NE 31 | NBC |
14.0
|
24,166
|
|
10
|
Sun., 12/25/11 | CHI 21, GB 35 | NBC |
12.6
|
24,019
|
(Week 16 numbers from rbr.com, with additional information from NBC Sports Group press release via Fang’s Bites)
