The Pro Bowl sank to its lowest overnight since moving to the week before the Super Bowl.
The 2015 NFL Pro Bowl drew a 5.6 overnight rating on ESPN Sunday night, down 16% from last year opposite the Grammys on NBC (6.7), down 27% from the 2013 game on NBC (7.7), and the lowest overnight for the game since 2007 on CBS (5.1).
Since hitting an 8.6 in 2011, overnights for the Pro Bowl have declined in four consecutive years. The new ‘unconferenced’ format that debuted last year has corresponded with especially steep declines. Overnights dropped only 3% in 2013, but then sank 13% in 2014 (with the Grammys as a major contributing factor) and 16% this year.
The double-digit drop puts the Pro Bowl well behind last year’s MLB All-Star Game on FOX (8.0) and jeopardizes the game’s five-year run as the most-watched All-Star Game in sports.
(Sun. overnight from ShowBuzz Daily)
