Overnight (metered market) ratings by sport:
Football.
17.1/32: NFL on FOX, Cowboys/Giants (4 PM Sunday)
12.7/20: Sunday Night Football on NBC, Colts/Chargers (8:30 PM Sunday)
10.4/22: NFL on FOX, regional (1 PM Sunday)
9.3/19: NFL on CBS, regional (1 PM Sunday)
5.3: College football on ABC, regional (3:30 PM Saturday)
4.4: Saturday Night Football on ABC, Kansas/Okla St. (8 PM Saturday)
3.4/8: FOX NFL Sunday (12 PM Sunday)
2.7/7: The NFL Today on CBS (12 PM Sunday)
2.5/5: SEC on CBS, Auburn/Georgia (3:30 PM Saturday)
1.7/4: Notre Dame football on NBC, Air Force/Notre Dame (2:30 PM Saturday)
0.9: College Football Countdown on ABC (3 PM Saturday)
0.8/2: College Football Today on CBS (3 PM Saturday)
- FOX: Cowboys/Giants gave FOX its best rating of the season; the 17.1 for Sunday afternoon’s battle of the #1 and #5 media markets in the country was a 14% jump over the 14.9 rating for the comparable Saints/Steelers game last year. The 17.1 would make Cowboys/Giants the third highest rated NFL game of the season, behind Patriots/Cowboys and Patriots/Colts.
- While FOX is no doubt pleased with the big number for Cowboys/Giants, it was the 1 PM window that saw the greatest growth. The 10.4 rating for regional action during the early window was a 33% increase over the 7.8 rating for comparable coverage in ’06.
- CBS: With FOX seeing big increases for its 1:00 PM window on Sunday, it makes sense that CBS would see big declines. The 9.3 overnight for regional singleheader coverage was a 27% drop from a 12.8 rating for comparable coverage last year.
- NFL football was not the only loser for CBS over the weekend. The SEC game of the week between Auburn and Georgia was a dud; the 2.5 rating for the game was down a 36% from last year. Even The NFL Today dropped by double digits, falling 10% to a 2.7 overnight from a 3.0 last year.
- NBC: The peacock drew its highest Sunday Night Football overnight since Bears/Cowboys in Week 3, as Colts/Chargers drew a 12.7 rating. Still, the 12.7 is a 7% drop from the 13.6 for Bears/Giants last year.
- ABC: College football coverage put up an impressive performance for ABC on Saturday. Early game coverage drew a 5.3 rating in the 3:30 PM window, up 10% from last year. Meanwhile, Saturday Night Football, though featuring a Kansas team that is not one of the marquee names in college football, was up 13% from last year.
Other.
3.4: NASCAR on ABC, Checker Auto Parts 500 (3:30 PM Sunday)
1.4: NASCAR Countdown on ABC (3 PM Sunday)
1.2/2: “Kurt Browning’s Gotta Skate” on NBC (4 PM Sunday)
0.6/2: Ultimate Blackjack on CBS (1 PM Saturday)
0.5/1: LG Actions Sports World Tour on CBS (2 PM Saturday)
- This has not been much of a banner season for NASCAR, at least when it comes to television ratings. For the seventh straight week, NASCAR on ABC saw declining ratings, as the Checker Auto Parts 500 drew a 3.4 on Sunday afternoon. The 3.4 rating was off 17% from 2006, when the race aired on NBC.
