Peyton Manning‘s Broncos debut attracted one of the largest primetime NFL audiences in recent memory.
The Week 1 Steelers/Broncos “Sunday Night Football” game drew a 16.5 final rating and 27.567 million viewers on NBC, up 8% in ratings and 7% in viewership from Cowboys/Jets last year (15.3, 25.766M), and up 10% and 9%, respectively, from Cowboys/Washington in 2010 (15.0, 25.262M).
The game ranks as the highest rated (tie) and second-most viewed regular season NFL telecast on NBC since the network reacquired rights for the 2006-07 season. The only game to draw as high a rating was the 2010 Vikings/Saints NFL Kickoff Game (16.5), and the only game to draw more viewers was Cowboys/Giants in Week 17 of last season (27.624M).
Overall, Sunday’s rating is tied as the best for a primetime regular season game since Vikings/Packers in the 1998-99 season (16.8), and the viewership stands as the second-best since Packers/Cowboys in the 1996-97 season (31.5M).
Among adults 18-49, the game drew an 11.0 rating — up 3% from last year (10.7), and up 15% from 2010 (9.6). The 11.0 rating in the demo ranks as the highest for a primetime regular season game since Broncos/49ers in the 1997-98 season (11.6).
Despite the big numbers, Steelers/Broncos was not even the top sports telecast of the past month. The August 12 Closing Ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics earned a 17.0 and 31.011 million viewers. Excluding the Olympics, the game stands as the top sports telecast since Giants/Patriots Super Bowl in February (47.0, 111.346M).
Locally, Pittsburgh led the metered markets for Sunday’s game (51.5), followed by Denver (44.2). In Denver, the 44.2 rating was the highest for any regular season NFL game the 2003-04 season.
Indianapolis (28.9), Manning’s previous home, was the top neutral market. Las Vegas (24.1) and Albuquerque (23.1) rounded out the top five.
10 Most-Viewed “Sunday Night Football” Games on NBC
Since the network began airing Sunday night games in the 2006-07 season
| # | Date | Away | Home | Net | Rating | Viewers (000) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun., 1/1/12 | Cowboys | Giants | NBC |
15.7
|
27,624
|
| 2 | Sun., 9/9/12 | Steelers | Broncos | NBC |
16.5
|
27,567
|
| 3 | Thu., 9/9/10 | Vikings | Saints | NBC |
16.5
|
27,485
|
| 4 | Thu., 9/8/11 | Saints | Packers | NBC |
16.0
|
27,169
|
| 5 | Sun., 9/11/11 | Cowboys | Jets | NBC |
15.3
|
25,766
|
| 6 | Sun., 12/12/10 | Eagles | Cowboys | NBC |
15.2
|
25,728
|
| 7 | Sun., 10/24/10 | Vikings | Packers | NBC |
15.4
|
25,675
|
| 8 | Sun., 9/12/10 | Cowboys | Washington | NBC |
15.0
|
25,262
|
| 9 | Sun., 9/20/09 | Giants | Cowboys | NBC |
15.1
|
24,817
|
| 10 | Sun., 12/11/11 | Giants | Cowboys | NBC |
14.9
|
24,516
|
(Sunday’s numbers from NBC Universal Media Village, with additional information from Media Life Magazine)
