Despite losing the season’s highest rated and most-viewed game to NBC, FOX still performed well Sunday.
The Week 17 NFL national window on FOX, featuring Packers/Vikings in 82% of markets, earned a 15.3 final rating and 26.4 million viewers Sunday afternoon — up 32% in ratings and 35% in viewership from coverage featuring Buccaneers/Falcons last year (11.6, 19.6M), and up 4% and 1%, respectively, from coverage featuring Bears/Packers in 2010 (14.7, 26.1M).
The Packers/Vikings game was the consolation prize for FOX after the network missed out on the Dallas/Washington NFC East title game. Dallas/Washington earned nearly four million more viewers on NBC (30.3M) than the national window did on FOX.
Even so, Sunday’s telecast performed well. The 26.4 million viewers tied the seventh-largest NFL audience of the 2012 season, matching the Week 1 national window on FOX. Six of the ten most-viewed NFL telecasts this season aired on FOX.
Earlier Sunday, regional action featuring Eagles/Giants in 52% of markets drew a 9.0 and 14.7 million viewers — up 100% in ratings and 92% in viewership from coverage featuring Panthers/Saints last year (4.5, 7.7M), but down 6% and 9%, respectively, from coverage featuring Buccaneers/Saints in 2011 (9.6, 16.1M).
10 Most-Viewed NFL Games
2012 regular season
|
#
|
Date
|
Away
|
Home |
Net
|
Rating
|
Viewers
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun., 12/30/12 | Cowboys | Washington | NBC |
17.0
|
30.3M
|
| 2 | Thu., 11/22/12 | Washington | Cowboys | FOX |
13.5
|
28.7M
|
| 3 | Sun., 9/9/12 | Steelers | Broncos | NBC |
16.5
|
27.6M
|
| 4 | Thu., 11/22/12 | Texans | Lions | CBS |
13.9
|
27.3M
|
| T5 | Sun., 10/28/12 | Giants | Cowboys | FOX |
16.0
|
26.9M
|
| T5 | Sun., 12/16/12 | Steelers | Cowboys | CBS |
16.2
|
26.9M
|
| T7 | Sun., 9/9/12 | Niners | Packers | FOX |
15.4
|
26.4M
|
| T7 | Sun., 12/30/12 | Packers | Vikings | FOX |
15.3
|
26.4M
|
| 9 | Sun., 11/25/12 | Niners | Saints | FOX |
15.0
|
24.9M
|
| T10 | Sun., 12/9/12 | Saints | Giants | FOX |
14.8
|
24.5M
|
| T10 | Sun., 10/7/12 | Broncos | Patriots | CBS |
14.5
|
24.5M
|
(Sunday’s numbers from Fox Sports press release via TV By the Numbers)
