The 2011-12 NFL regular season was a mixed bag for the league’s five broadcast partners.
Regular season NFL telecasts averaged 17.5 million viewers on FOX, CBS, NBC, ESPN and NFL Network this season, down 2% from last season (17.9M), but up 5% from the 2009-10 season (16.6M). This marks the second-most viewed NFL season since 1989.
In particular, NBC averaged a 12.9 rating and 21.5 million viewers for eighteen NFL telecasts, down a tick in ratings and 1% in viewership from last season (13.0, 21.8M), but up 10% and 11%, respectively, from the 2009-10 season (11.7, 19.4M). Though down from last season, NBC’s 21.5 million viewers was the second-highest average for any NFL primetime package since the 1996-97 season (22.7M, ABC).
FOX ranked second for the season, averaging a 12.0 and 20.1 million viewers for afternoon coverage — up 2% in ratings and flat in viewership compared to last season (11.8, 20.1M), and up 5% in both measures compared to the 2009-10 season (11.4, 19.1M). The 12.0 rating is the highest for the NFL on FOX since the 1995-96 season, and the 20.1 million viewers is tied as the network’s largest average audience ever.
Over on CBS, NFL action averaged 18.4 million viewers, down 2% from last season (18.7M), but up 7% from 2009-10 (17.2M). Despite finishing behind NBC and FOX, CBS earned the top NFL audience of the season (MIA/DAL: 30.901M).
Moving to cable, ESPN averaged an 8.4 U.S. rating and 13.252 million viewers for Monday Night Football — the network’s lowest rated and least-viewed season since 2008-09 (7.6, 11.962M).
NFL Network, meanwhile, averaged 6.2 million viewers for eight games, the network’s most-viewed season ever. NFL Network and FOX were the only NFL partners to have increases over last season.
Game-by-game ratings for each NFL telecast will be available shortly.
(NBC’s numbers from NBC Sports Group press release via Fang’s Bites; FOX numbers from Fox Sports Media Group press release via Fang’s Bites; CBS numbers from Bloomberg; ESPN numbers from espnmediazone3.com; NFL Network numbers from NFL press release via Fang’s Bites)
