via press release:
NFL GAMES TOP RATINGS IN 27 MARKETS IN “PREMIERE WEEK”
CBS National Game (mostly Colts-Broncos) Week’s Most-Watched Show
Packers-Bears on ESPN Most-Watched Show on Cable in 2010
NFL games topped the local ratings in 27 markets last week, which featured the premieres of many prime-time programs on the broadcast networks (up from 26 top-ranked NFL markets in “premiere week” last year and 19 in 2008).
NFL games compared favorably in local ratings to prime-time competition:
| Program | # of NFL Markets Ranked #1 |
| NFL Football | 27 |
| Dancing with the Stars premiere | 1 |
| Detroit 1-8-7 series premiere | 1 |
| Grey’s Anatomy premiere | 1 |
The CBS national game (mostly Colts-Broncos) was the most-watched program on television last week (Sept. 20-26) with 23.1 million viewers.
Packers-Bears on ESPN Monday night (Sept. 27) drew cable’s largest audience of 2010 with 17.5 million viewers. ESPN Monday night games account for the top five and eight of the 10 most-watched shows in cable history.
Following is the list of 27 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Sept. 20-26:
| Week of 9/20–9/26 | HH | HH | RTG | ||
| Market | Game | Date | RTG | SHR | Rank |
| New Orleans | Falcons at Saints | 9/26/10 | 50.4 | 76 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh | Steelers at Bucs | 9/26/10 | 45.6 | 75 | 1 |
| Indianapolis | Colts at Broncos | 9/26/10 | 39.5 | 63 | 1 |
| Kansas City | 49ers at Chiefs | 9/26/10 | 37.8 | 67 | 1 |
| Baltimore | Browns at Ravens | 9/26/10 | 34.5 | 64 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | Bengals at Panthers | 9/26/10 | 33.1 | 60 | 1 |
| San Diego | Chargers at Seahawks | 9/26/10 | 32.8 | 62 | 1 |
| Dallas | Cowboys at Texans | 9/26/10 | 32.7 | 62 | 1 |
| Buffalo | Bills at Patriots | 9/26/10 | 32.5 | 56 | 1 |
| Minneapolis | Lions at Vikings | 9/26/10 | 32.4 | 71 | 1 |
| Nashville | Titans at Giants | 9/26/10 | 31.2 | 54 | 1 |
| Denver | Colts at Broncos | 9/26/10 | 30.1 | 58 | 1 |
| Boston | Bills at Patriots | 9/26/10 | 29.3 | 62 | 1 |
| Houston | Cowboys at Texans | 9/26/10 | 28.8 | 54 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | Eagles at Jaguars | 9/26/10 | 27.6 | 46 | 1 |
| St. Louis | Redskins at Rams | 9/26/10 | 27.5 | 45 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | Eagles at Jaguars | 9/26/10 | 27.2 | 44 | 1 |
| Washington, DC | Redskins at Rams | 9/26/10 | 26.7 | 48 | 1 |
| Phoenix | Raiders at Cardinals | 9/26/10 | 26.0 | 48 | 1 |
| Cleveland | Browns at Ravens | 9/26/10 | 25.6 | 51 | 1 |
| Charlotte | Bengals at Panthers | 9/26/10 | 25.3 | 45 | 1 |
| Atlanta | Falcons at Saints | 9/26/10 | 25.1 | 43 | 1 |
| Seattle | Chargers at Seahawks | 9/26/10 | 24.5 | 51 | 1 |
| Miami | Jets at Dolphins | 9/26/10 | 24.0 | 36 | 1 |
| San Fran-Oakland | Saints at 49ers | 9/20/10 | 22.2 | 40 | 1 |
| Milwaukee | Lions at Vikings | 9/26/10 | 21.3 | 46 | 1 |
| Tampa | Chargers at Seahawks (bonus coverage) | 9/26/10 | 14.0 | 24 | 1 |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company
