There was some mild good news, must mostly bad, for the latest edition of Sunday Night Football.
The Week 9 Broncos/Raiders Sunday Night Football game had an 11.7 overnight rating on NBC, down 20% from Eagles/Cowboys last year (14.7) and down 2% from Ravens/Steelers in 2014 (11.9). The 11.7 is the lowest for SNF in Week 9 of the season since Colts/Texans three years ago (11.4).
The Raiders’ win, which marked their first Sunday night appearance in a decade, delivered the highest overnight for a primetime NFL game in six weeks — since Bears/Cowboys on SNF in September (12.9). It edged the previous six-week mark of 11.6 for two other SNF games, Eagles/Cowboys opposite Game 5 of the World Series and the infamous Seahawks/Cardinals tie in Week 7.
Though relatively high by this year’s standards, the 11.6 marked the sixth time this season that Sunday Night Football has had less than a 12.0 overnight — nearly matching the previous two seasons combined (seven such occurrences).
In the metered markets, all ten NFL telecasts on NBC this season have declined from last year, and eight have hit a multi-year low.
(Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily 11/7)
