An entertaining Week 14 of the NFL season produced strong numbers on FOX, CBS, and ESPN.
The Week 14 NFL national window, featuring Seahawks/49ers in 78% of markets, earned an 18.1 overnight rating on FOX Sunday afternoon — up 7% from coverage featuring Saints/Giants last year (17.0), and up 41% from coverage featuring Raiders/Packers on CBS in 2011 (12.8).
The 18.1 overnight is the fourth-highest of the season for any NFL telecast, trailing only the Week 4 (18.5), Week 5 (18.6) and Week 12 (18.9) national windows.
Earlier in the day, regional action featuring Lions/Eagles in 69% of markets drew an 11.8 overnight — up 4% from coverage featuring Cowboys/Bengals last year (11.4) and coverage on CBS in 2011 (11.4).
Over on CBS, the singleheader window drew a 13.3 overnight — up 18% from coverage on the network last year (11.3), but actually down 18% from coverage on FOX featuring Bears/Broncos in 2011 (14.3). The 13.3 is tied as the highest of the season for the singleheader on any network, no small feat considering that the window has underperformed on CBS this season.
Shifting to the primetime games, the Cowboys/Bears “Monday Night Football” game drew an 11.0 overnight on ESPN — up 10% from Texans/Patriots last year (10.0) and up 57% from Rams/Seahawks in 2011 (7.0). The 11.0 is the third-highest for a Monday night game this season, trailing Patriots/Panthers in 11 (11.2) and Eagles/Washington in Week 1 (11.6).
NBC’s Panthers/Saints “Sunday Night Football” game drew a 12.7 overnight, down 6% from Lions/Packers last year (13.5) and down 21% from Giants/Cowboys in 2011 (16.1).
(Overnights from Sports Business Daily, ESPN)
