or


[09/12/11 - 08:00 AM]
Best Season-Opening Sunday or Monday Primetime Overnight Rating in 15 Years
NBC spins the numbers for Sunday, September 11.
[via press release from NBC]

BEST SEASON-OPENING SUNDAY OR MONDAY PRIMETIME OVERNIGHT RATING IN 15 YEARS

Best Sunday Night Football Overnight Ever

16.9 For Last Night's Game Up 3% Over Last Year's SNF Opener; Up 26% Over 2009 SNF Opener

BACK TO FOOTBALL: Two-Game Average of 17.1 Ties 2010 for Best Since Inception of Thursday/Sunday Format in 2002

SNF Is Best Sunday Primetime Overnight Since February 27

NEW YORK - Sept. 12, 2011 - Last night's Sunday Night Football opener featuring the Cowboys vs. Jets on NBC had the best overnight for any Week 1 primetime game on Sunday or Monday night in 15 years, was up three percent over last year's SNF opener and 26 percent over the 2009 SNF opener, and is the top rated Sunday Night Football game ever, according to overnight data released today by The Nielsen Company.

The Jets 27-24 victory over the Cowboys earned a 16.9 overnight rating and 27 share (8:30-11:45 p.m. ET), the best overnight for any Sunday or Monday night Week 1 primetime game since Sept. 2, 1996 (Cowboys-Bears, 20.2/33 on ABC) and the best Sunday Night Football overnight rating since the NFL's premier primetime package moved to NBC in 2006.

The 16.9/27 is up three percent over last year's SNF season opener (Cowboys-Redskins, 16.4/26) and up 26 percent over the 2009 SNF season opener (Bears-Packers, 13.4/22). The rating peaked at an 18.2/34 from 11:30-11:45 p.m. ET.

BACK TO FOOTBALL: NBC's two-game overnight average of a 17.1/28 ties last year for the best since the NFL created the Thursday/Sunday primetime weekend in 2002 and is up 26 percent over the opening two games in 2009 (13.6/23).

DOMINATED PRIMETIME: From 8:30-11 p.m., Sunday Night Football averaged a 16.7/26, 142 percent higher than second-place CBS (6.9/10). NBC beat the combined 8:30-11 p.m. averages of CBS, ABC (3.4/5) and Fox (2.9/5, 8:30-10 p.m.) by 27 percent.

NBC's 12.8/21 from 7-11 p.m. in metered-market households is the highest Sunday average for any network since ABC televised the Academy Awards on February 27.

TOP 10 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL OVERNIGHT RATING/SHARE EVER:
*Sunday's only
1. 9/11/11, Cowboys-Jets 16.9/27 (Last Night's Game)
T2. 9/20/09, Giants-Cowboys 16.5/27 (Dallas Cowboys Stadium Debut)
T2. 12/12/10, Eagles-Cowboys 16.5/25 (2010 SNF Week 14)
4. 9/12/10, Cowboys-Redskins 16.4/26 (Last Year's SNF Opener)
5. 10/24/10, Vikings/Packers 16.0/25 (Favre's Return to Lambeau II)
6. 11/21/10, Giants-Eagles 15.9/24 (2010 SNF Week 11)
7. 11/25/07, Eagles-Patriots 15.6/24 (2007 SNF Week 12)
8. 12/14/08, Giants-Cowboys 15.4/24 (2008 SNF Week 15)
T9. 9/19/10, Giants-Colts 15.2/24 ("Manning Bowl II")
T9. 12/19/10, Packers-Patriots 15.2/24 (2010 SNF Week 15)
T9. 12/28/10, Vikings-Eagles 15.2/24 (2010 SNF Week 16 - Tuesday Game)

WEEK ONE SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL GAMES:
1. 9/11/11, Cowboys-Jets 16.9/27
2. 9/12/10, Cowboys-Redskins 16.4/26
3. 9/10/06, Colts-Giants 14.7/23
4. 9/9/07, Giants-Cowboys 13.6/22
5. 9/13/09, Bears-Packers 13.4/22
6. 9/7/08, Bears-Colts 13.0/20

TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR COWBOYS-JETS:
1. Dallas 38.8/58
2. San Antonio 28.1/40
3. Austin 26.2/41
4. New Orleans 24.7/33
5. Las Vegas 23.3/36
6. Albuquerque 22.5/35
7. Oklahoma City 22.1/32
8. Richmond 20.7/31
9. Houston 20.5/31
10. Norfolk 19.9/29

*The New York market ranked No. 11 with a 19.7/30 overnight rating,





  [september 2011]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
    


· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)




most recent ratings | view all posts
[05/28/26 - 03:23 PM]
2026 NBA Eastern Conference Finals Presented by Dunkin' Finishes Strong with Average Audience of 7.4 Million Viewers Across ESPN and ABC
Additionally, Game 4 on ESPN averaged 7.2 million viewers, marking the most-viewed Eastern Conference Finals Game 4 across any network since 2018.
[05/28/26 - 11:00 AM]
CBS Outpaces Competitors with Eight of the Top 25 Series Across All Streaming and Broadcast Originals in Nielsen's All-Series Ranker
CBS has the most top 25 series of any streaming or broadcast competitor and twice as many as its closest broadcast competitor, including six series with 10+ million viewers.
[05/28/26 - 10:31 AM]
FOX Delivers Most-Watched UFL Game Since League Started in 2024
1,593,000 viewers watched as Louisville defeated Dallas 37-23 on Sunday.
[05/28/26 - 10:26 AM]
FOX Scores with 110th Running of the Indianapolis 500
6,635,000 viewers watched Felix Rosenqvist edge David Malukas by 0.0233 seconds with a last-lap pass to win the Indy 500 Sunday on FOX.
[05/27/26 - 03:13 PM]
FOX Saturday Baseball Draws Strong Audience Over Holiday Weekend
2,355,000 viewers tuned in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Dodgers' 11-3 victory over the Brewers in most of the country.
[05/26/26 - 12:03 PM]
"Off Campus" Season 1 Has Reached 36 Million Viewers Worldwide in Its First 12 Days
Off Campus. On everyone's screen.
[05/26/26 - 12:01 PM]
Netflix Top 10: Week of May 18 - In Ruthless Pursuit, "Nemesis" Steals No. 1 in This Week's Top 10
Retirement in "The Boroughs" is anything but sleepy as the Duffer Brothers-produced sci-fi series took No. 2 on the list with 5.6 million views.
[05/26/26 - 11:00 AM]
"Dutton Ranch" Is the Biggest Original Series Debut in Paramount+ History
In addition to its record-setting performance on Paramount+, "Dutton Ranch" is also the #1 streaming series according to Nielsen based on average audience for the week of May 11 according to preliminary data.
[05/21/26 - 02:32 PM]
ESPN Delivered Most-Watched NBA Eastern Conference Finals Game 1 Since 2018
The New York Knicks overtime victory against the Cleveland Cavaliers on May 19 generated an average audience of 7.1 million viewers and peaked with 8.87 million viewers at 10:45 p.m. ET.

[05/21/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Survivor" Historic 50th Season Concludes with Most-Watched Finale Since 2020
The season finale drew an average of 5.78 million viewers, based on Nielsen Preliminary panel only data.
[05/21/26 - 07:01 AM]
NBC Sports' 2026 SuperMotocross Coverage Delivers Viewership Gains and Milestones
The seven races featured on NBC and Peacock averaged a Total Audience Delivery (TAD) of 468,000 viewers on NBC and Peacock, up 8% vs. 2025.
[05/20/26 - 03:05 PM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver the Most-Watched Western Conference Finals Game 1 Ever for Monday's Spurs-Thunder Double Overtime Thriller
Coverage peaked with 12.0 million viewers from 11:30-11:43 p.m. ET for the second overtime and game's conclusion.
[05/20/26 - 03:04 PM]
ESPN Aired Its Most Viewed 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs Second Round of the Current Rights Deal
Collectively all 11 Second Round games, with nine airing on ESPN and two on ABC, delivered 2.2 million viewers, up 76% year-over-year.

[05/20/26 - 07:36 AM]
After Record-Setting 2025 Season, "Sunday Night Football" Finishes Fall-Spring TV Season as Primetime's No. 1 Show for Unprecedented 15th Consecutive Year
The series averaged 23.5 million viewers in 2025, marking the show's best-ever viewership - up nearly 1 million viewers from the prior record for the series set a decade ago (22.6 million in 2015 season) and an increase of 9% over the '24 season (21.6 million).
[05/19/26 - 02:52 PM]
Subway Series Delivers Second Most-Watched FOX Saturday Baseball Telecast of the Season
2,500,000 viewers tuned-in to the two-game slate highlighted by the Mets' 6-3 victory over the Yankees in most of the country.