via press release:
PRIMETIME RECORDS IN NFL WEEK 7
NBC’s Vikings-Packers Most-Watched Sunday Night Game in History
ESPN’s Giants-Cowboys Cable’s Most-Watched Cable Show of Year
NFL Games 12 Most-Watched Shows on TV this Season – Up From 0 in ‘05
NFL primetime games set a pair of viewership milestones in Week 7.
Vikings-Packers on NBC drew 25.7 million viewers marking the most-watched Sunday night game in history. In addition, SNFwas the week’s most-watched show among all programs on television – the seventh time in the season’s seven weeks that an NFL game telecast topped the weekly charts.
This week’s Monday night game on ESPN (Giants-Cowboys) posted 18.0 million viewers to rank as the most-watched cable program of 2010.
NFL games account for the 12 most-watched programs on television since the NFL season kicked off on Sept. 9, according to The Nielsen Company. This compares to NFL games accounting for the seven most-watched shows at this point last season and none of the top 15 shows five years ago.
Following are the most-watched programs on television since the beginning of the NFL season:
| Program | Viewers |
| 1. FOX Sunday National (mostly Packers-Eagles), 9/12 | 28.0 million |
| 2. NBC Thursday Night Kickoff Game (Vikings-Saints), 9/9 | 27.5 million |
| 3. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Jets), 9/19 | 27.0 million |
| 4. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Vikings), 10/17 | 26.0 million |
| 5. NBC Sunday Night Football (Vikings-Packers), 10/24 | 25.7 million |
| 6. NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Redskins), 9/12 | 25.3 million |
| 7. CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Broncos), 9/26 | 23.1 million |
| 7. FOX Sunday National (mostly Redskins-Eagles), 10/3 | 23.1 million |
| 7. NBC Sunday Night Football (Giants-Colts), 9/19 | 23.1 million |
| 10. FOX Sunday Single (mostly Cowboys-Texans & Eagles-Jaguars), 9/26 | 22.2 million |
| 11. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Chargers), 10/24 | 21.9 million |
| 12. CBS Sunday Single (mostly Jets-Broncos & Ravens-Patriots), 10/17 | 21.5 million |
| 13. Dancing with the Stars, 9/27 | 21.4 million |
| 14. Dancing with the Stars, 9/20 (season premiere) | 21.3 million |
| 15. NBC Sunday Night Football (Bears-Giants), 10/3 | 20.9 million |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company, 9/9-10/24/10
Following is the list of 25 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Oct. 18-24:
| Week of 10/18–24 | HH | HH | RTG | ||
| Market | Game | Date | RTG | SHR | Rank |
| Milwaukee | Vikings at Packers | 10/24/10 | 53.1 | 68 | 1 |
| Minneapolis | Vikings at Packers | 10/24/10 | 51.5 | 68 | 1 |
| Pittsburgh | Steelers at Dolphins | 10/24/10 | 45.0 | 75 | 1 |
| New Orleans | Browns at Saints | 10/24/10 | 44.7 | 65 | 1 |
| Kansas City | Jaguars at Chiefs | 10/24/10 | 36.4 | 68 | 1 |
| Baltimore | Bills at Ravens | 10/24/10 | 35.8 | 65 | 1 |
| Boston | Patriots at Chargers | 10/24/10 | 35.1 | 58 | 1 |
| Nashville | Titans at Jaguars | 10/18/10 | 33.7 | 46 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | Bengals at Falcons | 10/24/10 | 31.6 | 54 | 1 |
| San Diego | Patriots at Chargers | 10/24/10 | 30.8 | 57 | 1 |
| Buffalo | Bills at Ravens | 10/24/10 | 30.6 | 54 | 1 |
| Chicago | Redskins at Bears | 10/24/10 | 29.8 | 57 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | Titans at Jaguars | 10/18/10 | 29.8 | 43 | 1 |
| Cleveland | Browns at Saints | 10/24/10 | 28.9 | 60 | 1 |
| Seattle | Cardinals at Seahawks | 10/24/10 | 27.5 | 58 | 1 |
| St. Louis | Rams at Buccaneers | 10/24/10 | 26.9 | 51 | 1 |
| Denver | Raiders at Broncos | 10/24/10 | 24.0 | 49 | 1 |
| Washington, DC | Redskins at Bears | 10/24/10 | 23.1 | 49 | 1 |
| Charlotte | 49ers at Panthers | 10/24/10 | 22.4 | 44 | 1 |
| Atlanta | Bengals at Falcons | 10/24/10 | 21.3 | 40 | 1 |
| Miami | Steelers at Dolphins | 10/24/10 | 20.7 | 42 | 1 |
| Phoenix | Cardinals at Seahawks | 10/24/10 | 20.6 | 41 | 1 |
| Indianapolis | Vikings at Packers | 10/24/10 | 17.1 | 25 | 1 |
| Tampa | Vikings at Packers | 10/24/10 | 14.6 | 24 | 1 |
| Houston | Patriots at Chargers | 10/24/10 | 14.2 | 29 | 1 |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company
