Sunday Night Football tumbled to a three-year ratings low thanks to the Saints’ 55-point drubbing of the Colts.
The Week 7 Colts/Saints Sunday Night Football game drew a mere 7.6 final rating and 12.465 million viewers on NBC Sunday, down 51% in ratings and 52% in viewership from Week 7 last year (MIN/GB: 15.4, 25.675M), and down 17% in both measures compared to 2009 (ARI/NYG: 9.1, 14.975M).
Excluding preseason, the Saints’ 62-7 victory ranks as the lowest rated and least-viewed NFL telecast on NBC since Week 7 of the 2008-09 season (SEA/TB: 6.3, 10.014M).
In addition, the 7.6 rating is the third-lowest ever for a primetime NFL game on broadcast television. The three lowest rated games have aired on NBC.
Sunday’s game was easily outdrawn by Game 4 of the Cardinals/Rangers World Series (9.2, 15.156M). This is a reversal of last year, when the Week 8 Steelers/Saints Sunday Night Football game (10.7, 18.106M) topped Giants/Rangers Game 4 head-to-head (9.0, 15.537M).
It is not unusual for the Major League Baseball playoffs to outdraw Sunday Night Football. In 2009, Game 6 of the Yankees/Angels ALCS (9.3, 15.481M, FOX) topped Cardinals/Giants (9.1, 14.975M). In 2008, Game 7 of the Rays/Red Sox ALCS (7.9, 13.357M, TBS) topped Seahawks/Buccaneers (6.3, 10.014M). In 2007, Game 7 of the Red Sox/Indians ALCS (11.7, 19.154M, FOX) topped Steelers/Broncos (8.3, 13.290M).
Though the World Series won Sunday’s head-to-head battle overall, Colts/Saints prevailed among adults 18-49 (5.2 to 4.2).
For the week, Sunday Night Football was just the sixteenth most-viewed primetime program of the week on broadcast, trailing three World Series games, multiple comedies, dramas and reality shows on CBS and ABC, and even CBS’ 60 Minutes.
Among adults 18-49, the game ranked a much more respectable fourth for the week, behind only ABC’s Modern Family (5.7), CBS’ Two and a Half Men (5.3) and the FOX NFL postgame show (5.3).
Five Lowest Rated Primetime NFL Games on Broadcast
|
#
|
Date
|
Game
|
Net
|
Rating
|
Viewers (000)
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Sun., 10/19/08 | SEA 10, TB 20 | NBC |
6.3
|
10,014
|
|
2
|
Sun., 10/14/07 | NO 28, SEA 17 | NBC |
7.1
|
11,188
|
|
3
|
Sun., 10/23/11 | IND 7, NO 62 | NBC |
7.6
|
12,465
|
|
4
|
Mon., 10/18/04 | TB 21, STL 28 | ABC |
7.7
|
11,506
|
|
T5
|
Sun., 12/31/06 | GB 26, CHI 7 | NBC |
7.9
|
13,445
|
|
T5
|
Sun., 10/15/06 | OAK 3, DEN 13 | NBC |
7.9
|
12,325
|
(This week’s numbers from TV By the Numbers)
