Overnight (metered market) ratings by sport.
Football.
15.6/24: Sunday Night Football on NBC, Eagles/Patriots (8:15 PM Sunday)
14.5/26: NFL on CBS, Broncos/Bears (4:15 PM Sunday)
13.9/33: NFL on FOX, Packers/Lions (12:30 PM Thursday)
12.4/32: NFL on CBS, Jets/Cowboys (4 PM Thursday)
11.4/23: NFL on FOX, regional (1 PM Sunday)
7.6/16: NFL on CBS, regional (1 PM Sunday)
7.0: Saturday Night Football on ABC, Missouri/Kansas (8 PM Saturday)
5.1/11: SEC on CBS, Arkansas/LSU (2:30 PM Friday)
4.9/7: Football Night in America on NBC (7:30 PM Sunday)
4.2/8: SEC on CBS, Florida St./Florida (5 PM Saturday)
4.1/9: FOX NFL Sunday (11:30 AM Thursday)
3.7/9: SEC on CBS, Tennessee/Kentucky (1:30 PM Saturday)
3.6/9: The NFL Today on CBS (3:30 PM Thursday)
3.5: College football on ABC, regional (3:30 PM Saturday)
3.4/8: FOX NFL Sunday (12 PM Sunday)
3.2: College football on ABC, Nebraska/Colorado (12 PM Friday)
3.2: College football on ABC, Texas/Texas A&M (3:30 PM Friday)
2.5/6: The NFL Today on CBS (12 PM Sunday)
0.8/2: College football on NBC, Grambling/Southern (2 PM Saturday)
- NBC: Sunday Night Football drew its highest regular season overnight since NBC regained rights to the NFL in 2006. The 15.6 rating for the Patriots close win over Philadelphia is a 44% jump over the comparable game last year.
- Ratings for the State Farm Bayou Classic between Grambling and Southern fell by nearly a third; the 0.8 overnight for the game marks a 27% decline from a 1.1 overnight last year.
- CBS: Decent ratings for Thanksgiving; Jets/Dolphins drew a 12.4, even with the game in the same timeslot last year, and up 2% from the 12.1 rating CBS drew for its Thanksgiving Day game last year. Unfortunately for CBS, those decent ratings did not carry into Sunday. The 14.5 overnight for Bears/Broncos is down 15% from the comparable Bears/Patriots game last year, and the 7.6 overnight for regional coverage in the 1:00 PM window fell 19% from ’06.
- College football was a boon to CBS over the weekend. Arkansas’ epic upset victory over #1 LSU drew a 5.1 overnight on Friday, up 50% from the same match-up in ’06. Meanwhile, Tennessee/Kentucky and Florida State/Florida put up decent numbers on Saturday. For the weekend, CBS averaged a 4.3 overnight rating, up 23% from the comparable weekend last year.
- FOX: A rare Lions Thanksgiving Day game with both teams over .500 led FOX to a holiday bump. The battle between the surging Green Bay Packers and the Lions drew a 13.9 overnight on Thursday, up 15% from the game in the comparable timeslot last year, and up 12% from the 12.4 rating FOX drew for its Thanksgiving Day game in ’06. The double-digit increases were not limited to Thanksgiving, as ratings for the NFL on FOX during the 1:00 PM window increased by 12% on Sunday.
- ABC: College football drew impressive numbers for ABC over the weekend, but still paled in comparison to last year. Missouri/Kansas drew a 7.0 on Saturday night, the highest overnight of the season for a college football game. However, that 7.0 rating still marked a 27% drop from last year, when Notre Dame/USC drew a 9.6 overnight. For the entire weekend, college football on ABC averaged a healthy 4.2 overnight rating — down 19% from 2006.
Other.
4.9/11: National Dog Show on NBC (12 PM Thursday)
1.5/3: Figure skating on NBC, Kristi Yamaguchi Friends and Family (4 PM Sunday)
1.4: Golf on ABC, LG Skins Game, Back Nine (3:30 PM Sunday)
1.2: Golf on ABC, LG Skins Game, Front Nine (1 PM Saturday)
0.5/1: AST Tour on NBC, Highlight show (2 PM Sunday)
- The 4.9 overnight for the National Dog Show exceeded that of every NASCAR race on ABC this season, and every early round NBA Playoff game on the network last spring. Over the holiday weekend, only NFL games and Missouri/Kansas drew a higher overnight rating. Still, however, the 4.9 marks an 8% drop from the 5.3 the same event drew last year.
- With ABC no longer airing golf on a regular basis, ratings for the LG Skins Game on the network have suffered. The 1.4 overnight for Saturday coverage fell 39% from last year, when it aired in a stronger timeslot (with college football as a lead-in). The 1.2 for Sunday coverage was down 25%. The 1.3 average for the two-day event marks a 35% drop from a 2.0 average in 2006.
