Another weak matchup meant another rough week for NBC’s Sunday Night Football ratings.
Raiders-Dolphins earned an 8.55 rating and 14.4 million viewers on NBC Sunday night, down 18% in ratings and 22% in viewership from Broncos-Raiders last year (10.4, 18.3M) and down 37% and 38% respectively from Eagles-Cowboys in 2015 (13.6, 23.0M).
Oakland’s win delivered the third-lowest rating and viewership on Sunday Night Football since 2011, ahead of Steelers-Lions the previous week (8.0, 13.9M) and Colts-Texans the previous year (8.1, 13.6M). It also ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Week 9 edition of SNF since NBC acquired rights.
SNF has now posted a single-digit rating in five of the past six weeks, its highest total in a single season since 2008 (seven).
Sunday’s game had a 4.9 rating in adults 18-49, tying the series’ second-lowest rating in the demo since 2008. It matched Colts-Texans last year and exceeded only Steelers-Lions last week (4.8).
Compared to last year, ratings declined 26% in adults 18-49 (6.6 to 4.9), 27% in adults 18-34 (5.5 to 4.0) and 23% in adults 25-54 (7.4 to 5.7).
Sacramento and New Orleans led all markets Sunday night with a 16.1 rating. The Bay Area was third at a 14.3, with Buffalo (14.2) and Richmond, Va. (13.9) rounding out the top five. Miami ranked outside of the top five, placing sixth at a 13.6.
It should be noted that SNF did not take the biggest hit on Sunday night. AMC’s The Walking Dead, which once challenged the NFL for Sunday night supremacy, was down 27% in viewership (from 11.7M to 8.5M) and a third in adults 18-49 (from 5.7 to 3.8).
[Sun. numbers via ShowBuzz Daily 11.7]
