Three of the four NFL pregame shows had declines in overnight ratings on Sunday. In other news, a move from cable to broadcast could not help the WNBA Finals weather NFL competition, and Major League Baseball returned to FOX with very low numbers.
NFL Pregame Shows Decline From Last Year
- The NFL pregame shows had declines in Week 1 of the season, with one exception. The season premiere of Fox NFL Sunday drew a 3.6 overnight rating, down 10% from last year’s ten-year high (4.0) and down a tick from 2012 (3.7). The NFL Today on CBS drew a 3.0 overnight, down 9% from last year (3.3) but up a tick from 2012 (2.9). ESPN’s Sunday NFL Countdown finished further back with a 1.7, off 15% from last year (2.0). Only NBC’s Football Night in America bucked the trend, earning a 6.2 overnight for its final 45 minutes (the first half hour is not rated) — up 15% from last year (5.4) and up 32% from 2012 (4.7).
Overnights Even For Game 1 of WNBA Finals
- Game 1 of the Sky/Mercury WNBA Finals drew a 0.4 overnight rating on ABC Sunday afternoon, even with Dream/Lynx Game 1 on ESPN last year and Fever/Lynx Game 1 on ESPN2 in 2012. Compared to the last WNBA Finals game to air on broadcast — Dream/Storm Game 1 in 2010 — the overnight declined slightly from a 0.5. Sunday’s opener finished well behind Game 2 of the Mercury/Lynx Western Conference Finals on ABC a week earlier (0.7), though that game did not have to face NFL competition.
Mere 1.1 Overnight For MLB on FOX
- The return of MLB on FOX earned a 1.1 overnight rating on Saturday afternoon, down 39% from last year (1.8) and down 21% from 2012 (1.4). The 1.1 overnight is easily the lowest of the season for MLB on FOX, and is tied as possibly the lowest overnight rating ever for baseball on broadcast TV.
(Wknd. overnights from Sports Business Daily; additional info from ESPN)
