Sunday Night Football finished its highest rated season in three years with its top Week 17 game in three years.
The season finale on NBC’s Sunday Night Football (49ers-Seahawks) averaged a 12.5 rating and 22.85 million viewers on NBC, marking the highest rated and most-watched Week 17 NFL game — on any network — since 2016 (Packers-Lions: 13.0, 23.82M).
The 49ers’ narrow win, which peaked with 25.7 million viewers from 11:15-11:30 PM ET, drew the third-largest primetime audience of the season. Cowboys-Saints in Week 4 (24.11M) and Vikings-Cowboys in Week 10 (22.99M) hold the top spots. It ranks further down the list in ratings, in sixth.
Ratings increased 34% in ratings and 42% in viewership from last year (Colts-Titans: 9.3, 16.05M). NBC did not air a Week 17 game two years ago. Including streaming, the game averaged 23.3 million.
For the season, NBC’s NFL games averaged an 11.3 rating (+3%) and 20.0 million viewers (+4%) — marking the network’s highest rated and most-watched season since 2016 (11.4, 20.3M). Including streaming, it averaged 20.5 million (+5%), a four-year high. From 2010-15, NBC averaged north of a 12 rating and 21 million each year.
NBC’s games easily outpaced the Thursday Night Football simulcasts on FOX (8.8, 14.9M) and Monday Night Football on ESPN (7.2, 12.1M) to rank as television’s highest rated and most-watched primetime show. The top non-sports show, “NCIS” on CBS, has averaged a 7.1 and 11.4 million so far this TV season.
Sunday’s season finale averaged a 6.2 rating in adults 18-49 (+37%) and a 4.2 in adults 18-34 (+31%). For the season, NBC averaged a 6.1 in 18-49 — even with last year and 2017.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 12.31, NBC Sports 12.30]
