While NBC and ESPN saw upticks for their Sunday and Monday night NFL coverage, it was FOX that finished as the highest rated of the league’s broadcast partners.
NFL coverage on FOX averaged a 10.5 rating and 17.0 million viewers during the 2008 regular season, down 2% and 1% from a 10.7 with 17.1 million in ’07. The 10.5 rating is tied as the third best average rating for NFL coverage on FOX since 2000. FOX aired the highest rated NFL game of the season, drawing a 15.6 for Cowboys/Steelers in December.
The other Sunday afternoon NFL broadcaster, CBS, also saw its average ratings decline in 2008. CBS averaged a 10.0/21 rating and 16.2 million viewers for NFL coverage, off 3% and 2% from last year’s 10.3 and 16.6 million. The 10.0 rating marks only the fourth time since returning to the NFL in ’98 that CBS has drawn a double-digit average for its NFL coverage. CBS aired three of the four highest rated NFL games this season, led by a 15.4 for regional coverage in November.
NBC finished sandwiched between FOX and CBS as the second-highest rated of the NFL’s broadcasters. NBC averaged a 10.2 rating and 16.7 million viewers for Sunday Night Football, up 2% and 4% from a 10.0 and 16.0 million in ’07. The 10.2 is the second lowest average ever for the prime-time NFL broadcast package, ahead of only last year’s 10.0. NBC’s highest rated game was Giants/Cowboys in mid-December, which drew a 13.7.
Since 1998, ratings for the prime time NFL broadcast package have fallen 27% — from a 13.9 for Monday Night Football on ABC in ’98, to a 10.2 for Sunday Night Football on NBC this year. By comparison, ratings for the NFL on FOX have fallen only 3% during the same span (10.8 in ’98, 10.5 in ’08), and 3% on CBS (10.3 in ’98, 10.0 in ’08).
On cable, ESPN saw a bump in the ratings for Monday Night Football. The network’s seventeen games averaged a 7.6 national rating (8.9 cable rating) and 12 million viewers, up 4% and 7% from last year’s 7.3 and 11.2 million. The highest rated game by far was Cowboys/Eagles in September, which drew an 11.3 rating and 18.6 million viewers — making it the most watched program in cable history.
Meanwhile, NFL Network averaged a 2.3 national rating and 3.7 million viewers for its eight-game NFL package, down 15% and 20% from a 2.7 with 4.6 million in ’07. Like FOX, NBC and ESPN, NFL Network drew its highest rating on the strength of a Dallas Cowboys game — the Cowboys’ Week 16 loss to the Ravens drew a 3.4 national rating and 5.8 million viewers.
NFL ratings by network during the 2008 season.
FOX: 10.5 rating, 17.1 million viewers; -2% and -1% from ’07.
NBC: 10.2 rating, 16.7 million viewers; +2% and +4% from ’07.
CBS: 10.0 rating, 16.2 million viewers; -3% and -2% from ’07.
ESPN: 7.6 rating, 12 million viewers; +4% and +7% from ’07.
NFLN: 2.3 rating, 3.7 million viewers; -15% and -20% from ’07.
