Despite a lopsided result, NBC scored a slight bump in overnights for an NFC West battle Sunday night.
The Week 16 Seahawks/Cardinals Sunday Night Football game drew a 12.8 overnight rating on NBC, up 2% from Bears/Eagles last year (12.5) and also up 2% from 49ers/Seahawks in 2012 (12.6). The Seahawks’ blowout marked the fifth straight NFL telecast on NBC to have a year-over-year increase in overnights.
Despite the bump, the 12.8 ranks as the lowest overnight for NBC since the network’s last NFC West game — Seahawks/49ers on Thanksgiving (12.5). It also ranks as the lowest for Sunday Night Football since Week 10 (11.1).
The Seahawks won Sunday’s game by the ugly score of 35-6, although the margin was a mere eight points entering the fourth quarter.
Seattle was the top market with a 51.9 rating, the best ever for a primetime regular season game in the market. Phoenix ranked second with a 35.2, the market’s best for a Sunday night game. Portland (22.3), Las Vegas (21.6) and Denver (15.9) rounded out the top five.
(Sun. numbers from NBC Sports via The Futon Critic)
