Sunday Night Football ratings continue to trend in the right direction.
Rams-Bears delivered an 11.2 rating and 19.4 million viewers on the Week 14 edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, up 11% in ratings and 13% in viewership from last year (Ravens-Steelers: 10.1, 17.2M) but down 25% and 27% respectively from Cowboys-Giants in 2016 (14.9, 26.5M).
The Bears’ win was the 11th of the last 14 games on NBC to increase over last year.
It was also the ninth game on NBC this season with at least an 11.0 rating, surpassing all of last season (eight). Keep in mind NBC aired both Sunday and Thursday night games last year.
While the trendline is pointing in the right direction, it should be noted that the numbers remain on the lower end historically. The 11.2 tops only last year as the lowest for SNF in Week 14 since 2008 (8.1).
Sunday’s game scored a 5.9 rating in adults 18-49, up 9% from last year (5.4) and down 32% from 2016 (8.7). It also had a 4.4 in adults 18-34 (+7%) and a 7.2 in adults 25-54 (+13%). In all three demos, ratings topped only last year as the lowest in Week 14 since 2008.
Chicago led all markets for Sunday’s game with a 33.7 rating, followed close behind by New Orleans (28.3). Milwaukee (19.7), Kansas City (19.3) and Minneapolis-St. Paul (19.2) rounded out the top five. Los Angeles was out of the top ten, its 15.3 rating ranking 13th.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 12.11, NBC Sports PR]
