A matchup that would have been mediocre even with a healthy Andrew Luck delivered weak numbers on NBC.
Colts-Seahawks delivered a 9.6 rating and 16.7 million viewers on NBC’s Sunday Night Football over the weekend, down 7% in ratings and viewership from Chiefs-Steelers last year (10.3, 18.1M) and down 32% and 31% respectively from Cowboys-Saints in 2015 (14.1, 24.2M).
The Seahawks’ blowout win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Week 4 edition of SNF since Eagles-Giants ten years ago (9.4, 15.0M).
Regardless of week, it was the third-lowest rated and fourth-least watched Sunday night game in the past six years. Another Colts game — Week 6 against the Texans last year — ranks dead last over that span (8.1, 13.6M).
Four of NBC’s first five NFL games this season have hit multi-year lows, Giants-Cowboys in Week 1 the lone exception.
Including streaming viewership on NBC and NFL digital platforms, the game had 16.9 million — still down 7% from last year (18.2M).
As has become customary, ratings declined disproportionately among younger viewers. Ratings fell 13% in adults 18-49 (from 6.7 to 5.8) and adults 25-54 (from 7.6 to 6.6) and a steeper 16% in adults 18-34 (from 5.6 to 4.7).
[Wknd. numbers via Programming Insider 10.3, ShowBuzz Daily 10.3a, 10.3b, with additional info from NBC Sports]
