Broncos/Chiefs was no match for the last Sunday Night Football game on Christmas, or for last year’s comparable game.
Broncos/Chiefs had an 11.2 overnight rating in the Week 16 edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, down 3% from Vikings/Giants last year and down 13% from Seahawks/Cardinals in 2014 (12.8). Compared to Bears/Packers on Christmas night in 2011, overnights fell 9% from a 12.6.
The Chiefs’ easy win, which peaked at an 11.7 from 9-9:30 PM ET, was NBC’s first NFL telecast in three weeks to post a year-over-year decline.
Sunday’s game pulled a lower overnight than Giants/Eagles on Thursday Night Football three nights earlier (12.5), marking just the third time this season that TNF has outdrawn the same week’s SNF matchup. Given the stronger viewership levels on Christmas Day, it is possible that Broncos/Chiefs will finish with a larger audience when all is said and done.
Kansas City was the night’s top market with a 42.8 rating, the market’s second-highest for a Chiefs game on SNF. Denver ranked a distant second with a 32.0. Albuquerque (20.4), Richmond, VA (16.0) and Las Vegas (15.8) rounded out the top five.
UPDATE 12/27: Post updated to correct error. The game did not have an 11.5 overnight rating, as previously reported.
(Wknd. numbers from NBC)
