Monday Night Football ended its season with another ratings bump, while Sunday Night Football scored a rare increase of its own.
The season finale of Monday Night Football (Bills-Patriots) averaged a Nielsen-estimated 8.2 rating and 14.45 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, marking the highest rated and most-watched Week 16 edition of MNF since 2016 (Cowboys-Lions: 10.1, 18.61M). Ratings increased 5% and viewership 6% from last year (Packers-Vikings: 7.8, 13.57M).
MNF finished the season with six-straight increases in viewership. Those six games — two of which were simulcast on ABC — averaged 12.9 million viewers, 16% higher than the first 11 this season (11.1M). Overall, the series averaged 11.8 million viewers this season, down 3% from last year, pending final adjustments.
ABC’s three MNF simulcasts — Bills-Patriots, Bills-49ers in Week 13 and Saints-Raiders in Week 2 — rank among the four most-watched Monday night games this season.
Shifting to the NFL’s primary primetime window, NBC scored a rare increase for Sunday Night Football last weekend. Titans-Packers averaged a 9.9 and 18.37 million, up 2% in ratings and 8% in viewership from Week 16 last year (Chiefs-Bears: 9.7, 17.03M). It was just the second game on NBC this season to post an increase in ratings and the third to do so in viewership.
With just one game left on its schedule, NBC has cracked a double-digit rating just five times in 18 games.
Earlier Sunday, FOX averaged an 11.7 (-18%) and 22.11 million (-13%) for the Week 16 national window (Rams-Seahawks in 69% of markets) — the lowest for the window in Week 16 of the season since 2016, when coverage aired on Christmas Eve Saturday. The first half of its doubleheader (mostly Falcons-Chiefs) averaged a 7.5 (-10%) and 13.50 million (-2%).
CBS fared far better relative to last year, with its singleheader (mostly Colts-Steelers) up 14% in ratings (to 8.5) and 25% in viewership (to 15.70M). CBS averaged 15.31 million viewers for its eight singleheaders this season, up 3% from last year and its best average in the window since 2016.
On Saturday, NFL Network wrapped up its season with a 3.3 and 6.07 million for Buccaneers-Lions and a 4.3 and 8.45 million for Dolphins-Raiders. Despite a 47-7 margin, Tampa Bay’s rout was flat in ratings and up 14% in viewership from Texans-Buccaneers last year (3.3, 5.32M). Meanwhile, the Dolphins’ one-point thriller declined 10% and 1% respectively (from Rams-49ers: 4.8, 8.50M).
As previously noted, Amazon Prime averaged 4.8 million for 49ers-Cardinals sandwiched between those NFL Network games. In addition, Fox and NFL Network averaged 20.1 million for Vikings-Saints on Christmas Day.
The full list of 2020 NFL ratings is available here.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 12.30, ESPN PR 12.30, CBS Sports PR]
