BEST SEASON OPENING SUN/MON PRIMETIME OVERNIGHT RATING IN 13 YEARS

Best SNF Overnight Ever; 16.6 For Last Night's Game Up 24% Over Last Year's Opening SNF Game

BACK TO FOOTBALL: Two-Game Average of 17.1 Best Since Inception of Thursday/Sunday Format in 2002

NEW YORK - Sept. 13, 2010 - Last night's "Sunday Night Football" opener featuring the Cowboys vs. Redskins on NBC Sports had the best overnight for any Week 1 (Sunday or Monday*) primetime game in 13 years, was up 24 percent over last year's SNF opener and is the top rated "Sunday Night Football" game ever according to overnight data released today by The Nielsen Company.

The Redskins 13-7 victory over the Cowboys earned a 16.6 overnight rating and 26 share (8:30-11:45 p.m. ET), the best overnight for any Week 1 (Sunday or Monday) primetime game since Sept. 1, 1997 (Bears-Packers, 16.7/27) and the best "Sunday Night Football" overnight rating since the NFL's premier primetime package returned to NBC in 2006, surpassing such games as the original "Manning Bowl" in 2006 (14.7/23) and last year's opening of the new Cowboys Stadium (16.5/27). Full list below.

*The only primetime NFL broadcast to have a higher overnight rating than last night's game dating back to 1997 was Thursday's NFL Kickoff game between the Vikings and Saints which drew a 17.7/28 overnight.

The 16.6/26 is up 24 percent over last year's SNF season opener (Bears-Packers, 13.4/22). The rating peaked at a 17.9/33 from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET.

BACK TO FOOTBALL: NBC's two-game overnight average of a 17.1/27 is the best since the NFL created the Thursday/Sunday primetime weekend in 2002 and is up 26 percent over last year's 13.6/23 for the opening weekend on NBC.

DOMINATED PRIMETIME: From 8:30-11 p.m., "Sunday Night Football" averaged a 16.5/25, 346 percent higher than second place CBS (3.7/6). NBC beat the combined primetime averages of CBS, Fox (3.0/4) and ABC (2.4/4) by 84 percent.

NBC's 12.4/20 from 7-11 p.m. in metered-market households is the highest Sunday average for any networks since ABC televised the Academy Awards on March 7.

TOP 10 "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" OVERNIGHT RATING/SHARE EVER:
*Sunday's only
1. 9/12/10, Cowboys-Redskins 16.6/26 (Last Night's Game)
2. 9/20/09, Giants-Cowboys 16.5/27 (Dallas Cowboys Stadium Debut)
3. 11/25/07, Eagles-Patriots 15.6/24
4. 12/14/08, Giants-Cowboys 15.4/24
T5. 11/15/09, Patriots-Colts 15.1/24
T5. 11/5/06, Colts-Patriots 15.1/22
7. 9/10/06, Colts-Giants 14.7/23 ("Manning Bowl I")
8. 9/21/08, Cowboys-Packers 14.4/22
9. 11/8/09, Cowboys-Eagles 14.3/23
10. 12/13/09, Eagles-Giants 13.8/22

WEEK ONE "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" GAMES:
9/12/10, Cowboys-Redskins 16.6/26
9/10/06, Colts-Giants 14.7/23 ("Manning Bowl I")
9/9/07, Giants-Cowboys 13.6/22
9/13/09, Bears-Packers 13.4/22
9/7/08, Bears-Colts 13.0/20

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR BEARS-PACKERS:
1. Dallas 39.6/58
2. Washington, D.C. 37.2/57
3. San Antonio 32.9/44
4. Richmond 32.1/46
5. Norfolk 30.5/43
6. Austin 26.3/39
7. New Orleans 25.3/34
8. Baltimore 22.6/34
9. Charlotte 21.6/33
10. Albuquerque 21.1/31

Interestingly, it is rare that markets not in the Top 10 score overnight ratings of more than a 20, but that was the case last night for Oklahoma City (20.1/29) and Nashville (20.0/29). Additionally, Philadelphia with a 19.7/29, ranked 14th.

*The San Francisco, Cincinnati and Louisville markets have been delayed by Nielsen