via press release:
NFL GAMES TOP TV VIEWERSHIP IN “PREMIERE WEEK”
Viewership Up on All Primetime Packages after First Quarter of Season
Broncos, Seahawks, 49ers & Giants Top Local Ratings Increases
NFL telecasts ranked 1-2 in viewership among all television programs during last week’s “premiere week” debuts of network primetime programming.
Giants-Eagles on NBC’s Sunday Night Football topped the charts for the week (Sept. 24-30) with 22.8 million average viewers followed by the FOX national telecast (mostly Saints-Packers) drawing 22.3 million viewers. The top non-NFL program was CBS’ NCIS which averaged 20.5 million viewers for its season premiere.
Since Labor Day, NFL game telecasts rank as the eight most-watched shows on television and are the only programs along with the NCIS premiere to draw more than 20 million viewers.
Viewership for all of the network’s primetime packages are up vs. 2011 with NBC off to its best Sunday Night Football start ever, ESPN’s Monday Night Football up seven percent, and NFL Network off to its best three-game Thursday Night Football start. Final CBS and FOX viewership figures will be available on Thursday.
Locally during premiere week, NFL games topped the ratings in 27 NFL markets:
| Program |
# of NFL Markets Ranked #1 |
| NFL Football |
27 |
| NCIS (premiere) |
3 |
Through the first quarter of the 2012 season, NFL games ranked No. 1 in local markets 98 percent of the time – topping the prior record in the season’s first four weeks (93 percent in 2011 and 2010).
The Denver Broncos’ local ratings are up 40 percent compared to last year at this time – tops in The League – followed by the Seattle Seahawks (up 39 percent), San Francisco 49ers (up 22 percent) and New York Giants (up 20 percent).
Following is the list of the NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Sept. 24-30:
| Week of 9/24–9/30 |
HH |
HH |
RTG |
||
| Market | Game |
Date |
RTG |
SHR |
Rank |
| New Orleans | Saints at Packers |
9/30/12 |
49.7 |
68 |
1 |
| Milwaukee | Saints at Packers |
9/30/12 |
48.4 |
74 |
1 |
| Baltimore | Browns at Ravens |
9/27/12 |
40.2 |
58 |
1 |
| Buffalo | Patriots at Bills |
9/30/12 |
37.0 |
60 |
1 |
| Denver | Raiders at Broncos |
9/30/12 |
35.1 |
65 |
1 |
| Boston | Patriots at Bills |
9/30/12 |
32.8 |
60 |
1 |
| Philadelphia | Giants at Eagles |
9/30/12 |
31.8 |
46 |
1 |
| Minneapolis | Vikings at Lions |
9/30/12 |
31.0 |
67 |
1 |
| Cleveland | Browns at Ravens |
9/27/12 |
30.1 |
46 |
1 |
| Kansas City | Chargers at Chiefs |
9/30/12 |
30.0 |
54 |
1 |
| Washington, DC | Redskins at Bucs |
9/30/12 |
28.7 |
49 |
1 |
| Cincinnati | Bengals at Jaguars |
9/30/12 |
25.7 |
45 |
1 |
| San Diego | Chargers at Chiefs |
9/30/12 |
25.1 |
48 |
1 |
| Houston | Titans at Texans |
9/30/12 |
24.7 |
49 |
1 |
| Atlanta | Panthers at Falcons |
9/30/12 |
24.5 |
47 |
1 |
| Phoenix | Dolphins at Cardinals |
9/30/12 |
24.0 |
44 |
1 |
| Charlotte | Panthers at Falcons |
9/30/12 |
23.5 |
44 |
1 |
| Detroit | Vikings at Lions |
9/30/12 |
23.5 |
45 |
1 |
| Seattle | Seahawks at Rams |
9/30/12 |
21.8 |
52 |
1 |
| Nashville | Titans at Texans |
9/30/12 |
21.4 |
37 |
1 |
| Jacksonville | Bengals at Jaguars |
9/30/12 |
20.9 |
32 |
1 |
| New York | Giants at Eagles |
9/30/12 |
20.7 |
31 |
1 |
| Miami | Dolphins at Cardinals |
9/30/12 |
19.1 |
36 |
1 |
| St. Louis | Seahawks at Rams |
9/30/12 |
18.5 |
38 |
1 |
| San Fran-Oakland | 49ers at Jets |
9/30/12 |
17.9 |
47 |
1 |
| Dallas | Saints at Packers |
9/30/12 |
16.7 |
31 |
1 |
| Chicago | Saints at Packers |
9/30/12 |
14.6 |
28 |
1 |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company
That’s because Bill was watching.