A Super Bowl 49 rematch was just the ticket for NBC to reverse its Sunday Night Football slide.
Seahawks/Patriots earned a 14.3 overnight rating on the Week 10 edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, up 13% from Cardinals/Seahawks last year (12.6), up 29% from Bears/Packers in 2014 (11.1) and the highest Week 10 SNF overnight since Patriots/Jets in 2011 (14.5).
The Seahawks’ win was the first NFL telecast on NBC this season to post an increase in ratings or viewership, snapping a streak of ten straight declines.
It also delivered the highest primetime NFL overnight since Week 1, when NBC earned a 14.8 for Patriots/Cardinals on SNF and a 16.5 for the Panthers/Broncos Kickoff Game. The previous high over that span was 13.7 for Packers/Vikings on SNF in Week 2.
In a normal year for Sunday Night Football, this week’s numbers would not look so impressive. Last season, the lone game to earn a 14.3 overnight (Packers/Broncos opposite the World Series) ranked a middle-of-the-road 10th out of NBC’s 19 total telecasts.
Seattle was Sunday’s top market with a 48.2 rating, followed by Boston (34.9). Secondary markets Providence (26.6) and Portland (24.0) ranked third and fourth, with Albuquerque (20.7) rounding out the top five.
(Wknd. numbers from NBC Sports)
