Despite facing less competition from sporting events on other networks, Sunday’s Super Bowl pregame show was down slightly from last year.
The Super Bowl pregame show earned a 12.0 overnight rating on NBC Sunday afternoon, down 2% from last year (12.2, FOX), but up 11% from 2010 (10.8, CBS).
Overnight ratings for the Super Bowl pregame show (both this year and last) are for the 2:00-6:30 PM ET window.
This year’s pregame show did not face any competition from either the NBA or NHL. Last year’s pregame show on FOX aired opposite the NBA on ABC (ORL/BOS: 2.8) and the NHL on NBC (PIT/WSH: 1.0).
Even with the decline, the pregame show earned numbers on par with championship sporting events. The 12.0 overnight topped five of the seven 2011 World Series games on FOX, four of the six 2011 NBA Finals games on ABC, and four of the five 2012 Bowl Championship Series games on ESPN.
The last half-hour of the pregame (6-6:30 PM ET) earned a 34.5 overnight rating, up 2% from last year (33.3, FOX), and the highest for the final half-hour of the pregame since 2003 (35.3, ABC).
(Sunday’s numbers from NBC Sports Group press release)
