NBC had a solid outing for Sunday Night Football.
The Week 14 Patriots/Chargers Sunday Night Football game drew a 12.8 final rating and 21.2 million viewers on NBC, up 13% in ratings and 11% in viewership from Panthers/Saints last year (11.3, 19.1M) and flat and down 1%, respectively, from Lions/Packers in 2012 (12.8, 21.4M).
The Patriots’ win marked the second straight SNF telecast to have a double-digit increase in both ratings and viewership. The previous three Sunday night games each had double-digit declines.
The past five NFL telecasts on NBC, including the Thanksgiving night special, have now topped 20 million viewers — compared to just two of the previous eight. With that said, NBC has only once crossed the 25 million threshold once this season, well below the five such telecasts at the comparable point last year.
Among adults 18-49, Patriots/Chargers had a 7.1 rating — up 3% from last year’s 6.9, but down 9% from a 7.8 in 2012.
Boston was the top market with a 41.2 rating, followed by San Diego (36.5), Providence (33.2), Denver (22.2) and Las Vegas (22.0).
(Sun. numbers from Media Life Magazine, with additional info from The Futon Critic)
