A season of sluggish NFL ratings ended on a mixed note last weekend.
The Week 17 NFL national window on FOX — featuring Panthers-Falcons in 72% of markets — had an 11.5 rating and 20.8 million viewers last Sunday, down 7% in ratings and viewership from last year (mostly Giants-Washington: 12.3, 22.4M) and down 5% and 1% respectively from 2015 (12.0, 20.9M).
It was the lowest rated Week 17 late game on FOX since 2006, the last time Week 17 took place on New Year’s Eve (mostly Cardinals-Chargers: 10.8). It was the least-watched since 2011 (mostly Panthers-Saints: 19.6M).
Keep in mind the telecast faced tougher competition than last year. In the same window, CBS scored an 8.7 and 15.6 million for coverage featuring Bengals-Ravens — up 28% in ratings and 29% in viewership from last year (6.8, 12.1M) but down 16% and 11% respectively from 2015 (10.3, 17.6M).
Together, the late games combined for 36.4 million viewers — up 5% from last year (34.6M) but down 5% from 2015 (38.4M). The NFL scheduled an unusually-high nine games for the late window, five involving teams trying to clinch a playoff berth. In addition, the league declined to flex any game into the Sunday night window, marking the first time since 1977 that the season ended in the afternoon.
Earlier in the day, regional action featuring Bears-Vikings had a 7.9 (-18%) and 13.6 million (-20% on FOX, while competing coverage featuring Jets-Patriots had a 6.6 (-28%) and 11.2 million (-32%) on CBS.
The seven early games combined for 24.8 million viewers, down 26% from both last year (33.55M) and 2015 (33.65M).
[Wknd. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 1.3]
