The numbers are not very impressive compared to regular season NFL fare, much less postseason action, but the 2011 Pro Bowl earned a big audience for FOX Sunday night.
FOX earned a 7.7 final rating and 13.4 million viewers for coverage of the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl Sunday night, up 8% in ratings and 9% in viewership compared to last year (7.1, 12.297 mil, ESPN), and up 43% and 52%, respectively, from 2009 (5.4, 8.798 mil, NBC).
Sunday’s game ranks as the highest rated edition of the Pro Bowl since 2000 (8.6, ABC), and the most-viewed since 1997 (13.5 mil, ABC).
This is the second straight year the Pro Bowl has hit at least a ten-year high in ratings and viewership.
Compared to regular season NFL action on FOX, Sunday’s game earned mediocre numbers. FOX averaged an 11.7 rating and nearly 22 million viewers for regular season games during the 2010-11 season.
However, Sunday’s matchup compares quite favorably to non-NFL fare. The Pro Bowl ranks as the highest rated, most-viewed All-Star Game in any sport in eighteen months — since the 2009 MLB All-Star Game (8.9, 14.593 mil, FOX).
The game topped last year’s MLB All-Star Game (7.5, 12.118 mil, FOX) by 3% in ratings and 11% in viewership, and last year’s NBA All-Star Game (3.8, 6.846 mil, TNT) by 103% and 96%, respectively.
Moreover, the game drew a higher rating and more viewers than two of ESPN’s five Bowl Championship Series telecasts, topping both the Fiesta (6.2, 10.819 mil) and Orange (6.7, 10.682 mil) Bowls, and coming close to the Sugar Bowl (8.2, 13.635 mil).
New Orleans was the top market for the Pro Bowl, with a 21.0 rating. Milwaukee was second, with a 15.6. The 15.6 in Milwaukee crushed the averages for the 2010 World Series (6.8 over five games) and 2010 NBA Finals (8.3 over seven games) in the market.
