NFL Network scored its largest Saturday audience in nine years thanks to Ravens-Chargers. Also: multi-year highs for the NFL, Premier Boxing Champions and PBA bowling on FOX.
Ravens-Chargers Hits NFL Network High
Saturday’s Ravens-Chargers NFL regular season game scored a 4.55 rating and 8.21 million viewers on NFL Network, up 42% in ratings and 31% in viewership from Bengals-Texans in 2016 (3.2, 6.3M). NBC’s Sunday Night Football aired in the same window last year, with Vikings-Packers earning an 8.4 and 15.3 million.
Baltimore’s win was the most-watched Saturday game on NFL Network since 2009 (Cowboys-Saints: 10.50M) and the highest rated since 2015 (Washington-Philadelphia: 4.7).
Earlier in the day, Washington-Tennessee had a 3.6 and 6.19 million — up 16% in ratings and 15% in viewership from last year (Colts-Ravens: 3.1, 5.4M). There was no comparable window in 2016, when FOX and CBS aired their traditional Sunday slate on Saturday to avoid the Christmas holiday.
NFL Singleheader Hits Week 16 High
The Week 16 NFL singleheader window, featuring Buccaneers-Cowboys in 46% of markets, had a 9.35 rating and 16.33 million viewers on FOX — up 5% in ratings and 3% in viewership from last year (ft. Patriots-Bills: 8.9, 15.8M) and up 26% and 21% respectively from 2016 (ft. Jets-Patriots: 7.7, 14.2M). Those games, which aired on CBS, both took place on Christmas Eve.
The telecast ranks as the highest rated and most-watched Week 16 singleheader since 2015 (10.2, 17.6M).
PBC Delivers Top Audience in Three Years
Coverage of Premier Boxing Champions on FOX earned a 1.3 rating and 1.97 million viewers last Saturday night, up 117% in ratings and 109% in viewership from the previous PBC card on the network in August (0.6, 941K).
It was the highest rated and most-watched PBC event in more than a year, since March 2017 on CBS (1.9, 3.06M), and the top PBC card on FOX since its debut on the network in January 2016 (1.5, 2.52M).
Notably, Saturday’s telecast earned a higher rating and more viewers than the series finale of the UFC on FOX one week earlier (1.1, 1.83M).
Strong Debut For PBA on FOX
Airing adjacent to the NFL, the first ever PBA bowling event on FOX earned a 1.1 rating and 1.768 million viewers last Sunday — the largest pro bowling audience since 2005 (2.08M). The previous high was 1.765 million on ESPN in 2010.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 12.27; Fox Sports PR 12.28]
