or


[09/11/09 - 08:51 AM]
NBC Sports Scores Best NFL Kickoff in 7 Years
NBC spins the numbers for Thursday, September 10.
[via press release from NBC]

NBC SPORTS SCORES BEST NFL KICKOFF IN 7 YEARS

Best Overnight Sports Rating Since Super Bowl XLIII; Best Overnight Primetime Rating Since American Idol Finale

NBC Dominates Competition in Primetime Beating Second Place CBS by 144 %

NEW YORK - Sept. 11, 2009 - Last night's Titans-Steelers game on NBC Sports was the highest rated NFL Kickoff in seven years, had the best overnight sports rating since Super Bowl XLIII, the best overnight primetime rating since the American Idol finale and dominated the other networks according to data released today by Nielsen Media Research.

The game won by the Steelers 13-10 in overtime, scored a 13.8 overnight rating/23 share (8:45-11:45 p.m. ET), the highest rating for the Thursday NFL Kickoff since the inaugural game on network television (14.5/23 on ABC in 2003).

- BEST SINCE SUPER BOWL: Last night's game had the best overnight rating for any sporting event since Super Bowl XLIII, which was the most watched broadcast in U.S. television history. The Titans-Steelers game also generated the highest overnight rating for any primetime show on any broadcast network since the American Idol finale (15.3/25 on 5/20/09).

- DOMINATED PRIMETIME: NBC dominated primetime (8-11 p.m.) with a 12.2/20 average in the metered markets, establishing a 144 percent margin of victory over CBS's second-place 5.0/8 and more than quadrupling each of the other broadcast networks -- CW, 2.7/4; ABC, 2.6/4; Fox, 2.6/4.

- UP 37% OVER LAST YEAR: Last night's game was up 37 percent from the 2008 NFL Kickoff (Giants-Redskins, 10.1/17), which started early to allow coverage of the Republican National Convention, up six percent from the 2007 NFL Kickoff (Colts-Saints, 13.0/21) and up two percent from the 2006 NFL Kickoff (Dolphins-Steelers, 13.5/22).

- The rating peaked during the overtime period at a 15.0/29 from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET.

TOP RATED SPORTS PROGRAMS SINCE SUPER BOWL XLIII
*Based on overnight ratings
1. NFL Kickoff (Titans-Steelers) 13.8/23 NBC
2. NCAA Championship (Mich. St-UNC) 11.9/19 CBS
3. NBA Finals, Gm. 4 (Lakers-Magic) 10.9/19 ABC
4. MLB All-Star Game 10.4/18 Fox
5. Kentucky Derby 10.2/22 NBC
6. NBA Finals, Gm. 3 10.1/17 ABC
7. NBA Finals, Gm. 2 9.9/17 ABC
8. NBA Finals, Gm. 5 9.4/16 ABC
9. NCAA Semifinal (Villanova-UNC) 9.3/17 CBS
10. NBA Finals, Gm. 1 8.9/15 ABC

NFL KICKOFF - THURSDAY NIGHT SEASON OPENERS OVERNIGHT RATINGS:
2009: NBC 13.8/23 (Pittsburgh 13 - Tennessee 10)
2008: NBC 10.1/17 (NY Giants 16 - Washington 7)
2007: NBC 13.0/21 (Indianapolis 41 - New Orleans 10)
2006: NBC 13.5/22 (Pittsburgh 28 - Miami 17)
2005: ABC 13.1/22 (New England 30 - Oakland 20)
2004: ABC 12.6/20 (New England 27 - Indianapolis 24)
2003: ABC 14.5/23 (Washington 16 - NY Jets 13)
*2002 ESPN 7.6/13 (Houston 19 - Dallas 10)
*U.S. HH Rating: overnight rating not available

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR LAST NIGHT'S GAME
1. Pittsburgh, 49.6/70
2. Nashville, 40.1/56
3. Baltimore, 20.5/33
4. Las Vegas, 20.0/32
5. New Orleans, 18.8/27
6. Cleveland, 18.7/30
7. Memphis, 18.2/25
8. Knoxville, 18.0/27
9. Washington D.C., 17.3/29
10. Norfolk, 16.9/27





  [september 2009]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[03/04/26 - 09:29 AM]
ABC Continues Multiplatform Success With Midseason Lineup
Season to date, ABC continues to dominate the competitive cross-platform landscape among broadcast series based in viewing over seven days on ABC, Hulu, Disney+ and digital platforms.
[03/03/26 - 03:30 PM]
ABC's Beloved Comedy "Scrubs" Returns with Over 11 Million Total Audience to Date
On linear over three days, "Scrubs" was the top comedy telecast among Adults 18-49 (0.74 rating) on any network (excluding post-NFL telecasts) in over a year.
[03/03/26 - 03:00 PM]
"Marshals" Premiere on CBS Is the Most-Watched New Scripted Debut Without a Football Lead-In Since 2018, with 9.5 Million Viewers
"Marshals," "Tracker" and "60 Minutes" are the top three series on television for the week.
[03/03/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of February 23 - "Bridgerton" Season 4 Lives Happily Ever After at No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Coming in at No. 2 on the English TV list is Season 3 of "The Night Agent" with 9.9 million views.
[03/02/26 - 03:10 PM]
"Sheriff Country" Midseason Premiere Scores Its Most-Watched Episode and Is the #1 Show of the Night
5.30 million viewers on average tuned into the show's return on Friday.
[02/27/26 - 03:00 PM]
"Survivor 50" Premiere Wins the Night Posting CBS' Most-Watched Wednesday Since 2022
Said premiere averaged 5.06 million viewers, peaking with 6.18 million.
[02/26/26 - 02:19 PM]
"Live with Kelly and Mark" Soars to Season High with Best Audience in Over a Year
"Live" has now ranked as the No. 1 talk show in syndication for 157 consecutive weeks across all key measures.
[02/25/26 - 05:44 PM]
ABC Wins Monday Night as "American Idol" Dominates with Best Audience Since Season Premiere
In fact, "American Idol" scored its largest margin of victory ever in Total Viewers over "The Voice" during its nine-season run on ABC.

[02/25/26 - 03:35 PM]
"20/20: The Au Pair, The Affair and Murder" About a Twisted Love Triangle Delivers Best Adult 25-54 Performance in 10 Months and Strongest Delivery in Adults 18-49 in 11 Months
Hitting new season highs for the second straight week, "20/20" improved on the previous week in Adults 25-54 and Adults 18-49.
[02/25/26 - 02:46 PM]
ABC News Is No. 1 Broadcast Network for Coverage of the State of the Union, Beating NBC by 1.4 Million and CBS by 1.7 Million
Said coverage ranked No. 1 among the broadcast networks in all key target demos: Total Viewers (4.912 million), Adults 25-54 (1.125 million) and Adults 18-49 (886,000).
[02/24/26 - 01:48 PM]
Nearly 21 Million Viewers Watched NBCUniversal's Coverage of USA-Canada Olympic Men's Gold Medal Hockey Game, Peaking at 26 Million for Game-Winning Goal on NBC & Peacock
The USA-Canada gold-medal game delivered an average live audience of 18.6 million viewers on NBC and Peacock (8:15-11 a.m. ET).
[02/24/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of Feb. 16 - "Reality Check: Inside America's Next Top Model" Sashays to No. 1 in Top 10
Plus: Season 3 of "The Night Agent" took No. 2 on the English TV list with 8.4 million views.

[02/23/26 - 03:55 PM]
NBCUniversal's Presentation of Milan Cortina Olympics Dominates Media Landscape & Delivers Largest Winter Games Audience Since 2014
Sunday's Closing Ceremony provided a spectacular culmination as more than 215 million Americans (215.6 million through February 17) tuned in across NBCUniversal's platforms for "Legendary February."
[02/23/26 - 12:00 PM]
CBS Series Post Strong Fall Viewership, Topping Broadcast and Streaming Rankings in Live + 35-Day Multiplatform Viewership
The CBS fall lineup scored eight of the top 10 most-watched series among broadcast competition and nine of the top 20 most-watched series among all broadcast and streaming competition for this season's episodes airing through January 4, 2026.
[02/20/26 - 11:08 AM]
"The 'Burbs" Continues Hot Start on Peacock
The series has generated nearly 1 billion viewing minutes on platform since its February 8 launch.