The NFL preseason continued to lag behind previous years last weekend, as three of the four games on broadcast had declines in ratings.
On NBC, the Sunday night Vikings/49ers game had a 5.2 final rating and 8.2 million viewers, down 16% in ratings and 17% in viewership from Panthers/Jets last year (6.2, 9.8M), and down 7% and 12%, respectively, from Saints/Raiders in 2011 (5.6, 9.3M).
Vikings/49ers ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed preseason game on NBC since Bills/Titans in 2009 (4.9, 7.9M).
Earlier in the day, FOX drew a 3.7 final rating for the afternoon Saints/Texans game — down 18% from 49ers/Broncos last year (4.5), and the lowest-rated preseason game on a Sunday since the current TV deal began in 2006.
Last Saturday, Rams/Broncos scored a 2.9 and 4.4 million viewers on CBS — down 9% in ratings and 14% in viewership from Texans/Saints last year (3.2, 5.1M), and down 22% and 21%, respectively, from Patriots/Lions in 2011 (3.7, 5.6M).
The lone only game to avoid declines last weekend was Seahawks/Packers on August 23. The game drew a 4.8 final rating and 7.7 million viewers on CBS, up 46% in ratings and 33% in viewership from Bears/Giants last year (3.3, 5.2M), and up 17% and 14%, respectively, from Packers/Colts in 2011 (4.1, 6.7M).
(Weekend numbers from Sports Business Daily)
