Nielsens: NFL Ratings, CFB, CBB, NHL

Another week, another drop in NFL ratings. In other news, Memphis-UCF was the biggest draw of the group of five conference title games, Ohio State-Wisconsin boosted FOX college basketball ratings, and NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry dipped on NBCSN.

NFL Ratings: Singleheader Hits CBS High, But Down Again

The Week 13 NFL singleheader window pulled a 9.1 rating and 15.1 million viewers on CBS last Sunday, down 16% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last year (10.8, 18.5M) and down 11% and 12% respectively from 2015 (10.2, 17.2M). Ratings and viewership for the singleheader have declined in 11 of 13 weeks this season, hitting multi-year lows in ten of those 11.

Despite the low, it was the highest rated singleheader on CBS this season (six telecasts). It trailed Week 8 as the most-watched (15.2M).

Big Jump For American Title Game; MAC, C-USA, MWC Down

Last Saturday’s Memphis-UCF American Athletic Conference Championship had a 2.3 rating and 3.4 million viewers on ABC, up 64% in ratings and 65% in viewership from Temple-Navy last year (1.4, 2.05M) and up 28% and 38% respectively from Houston-Temple in 2015 (1.8, 2.45M).

In the same window, the Toledo-Akron MAC Championship had 652,000 viewers on ESPN — down 52% from Western Michigan-Ohio last year, which aired on a Friday night on ESPN2 (1.4M). It was the least-watched MAC Championship since at least 2011. ESPN2 drew 255,000 for the North Texas-Florida Atlantic Conference-USA title game, down 72% from Western Kentucky-Louisiana Tech on ESPN last year (926K).

Rounding out the group of five action, the Boise State-Fresno State Mountain West Championship had a 0.39 (-11%) and 623,000 (-13%) on ESPN in primetime.

Big Ten Doubleheader Lifts FOX CBB Opener

Last Saturday’s Ohio State-Wisconsin college basketball game, which led into the Big Ten football championship between the same two teams, had a 0.7 rating and 1.1 million viewers on FOX — up 95% from the network’s first December game last year, Utah-Xavier one week later in the season (0.38, 552K).

Earlier in the day, CBS posted a 0.6 and 902,000 for its season opener between Indiana and Michigan — down 54% and 53% respectively from a higher-profile UCLA-Kentucky matchup last year (1.3, 1.9M).

Recent NHL Ratings

Blackhawks-Capitals had 378,000 viewers on the latest edition of NHL Wednesday Night Rivalry on NBCSN, down 17% from Bruins-Capitals last year (454K) and down 13% from Bruins-Canadiens in 2015 (436K). Rangers-Penguins had 274,000 the previous night.

Going back to last month, NBCSN scored 424,000 for Lightning-Bruins on November 29 (+2%), 393,000 for Blackhawks-Predators on November 28 (+3%) and 272,000 for Blackhawks-Lightning on November 22 (+11%). The annual Black Friday game — Penguins-Bruins — had a 0.8 rating (-11%) and 1.2 million (-10%) on the NBC broadcast network.

[Numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 12.5, 12.7, Son of the Bronx]