NFL getting lucky with ratings

(October 30, 2009) The NCAA men's college basketball title game, the Kentucky Derby, Daytona 500, the most-watched NBA Finals game, MLB's All-Star Game and the final round of The Masters have at least one thing in common.

Each drew fewer TV viewers than 15 NFL regular-season games so far.

Each NFL TV carrier's game ratings are up noticeably this year. Some of those gains, especially ESPN's, were juiced by luck. ESPN on Monday nights, like NBC on Sunday nights, has no choice but to show one game nationally. So their ratings are largely influenced by the NFL game schedules released each April.

While networks lobby the league for good matchups, no one could have predicted when the schedule came out last spring — and Brett Favre still wasn't ruling out that he'd move to Mars — that ESPN's Green Bay Packers-Minnesota Vikings game Oct. 5 would end up the most-watched program ever on cable TV.

Or that ESPN would get two losing teams this past Monday — Philadelphia Eagles-Washington Redskins — but the rating would be up 15% from a comparable Denver Broncos-New England Patriots last year because it was played in the midst of the Redskins highly publicized management implosion.

But NFL Sunday afternoon ratings come with asterisks. In regionalized coverage in those time slots, Fox and CBS can send the hottest game to most of the country. But their overall ratings are also beefed up by simultaneously showing games in teams' local TV markets — where NFL teams are TV mega-stars. NFL games, in a record pace, have been the highest-rated show of the week in their local markets 89% of the time this season.

Still, the NFL's power to mesmerize can confound. Try guessing the most-watched sports event in America since the Super Bowl. It was also Fox's most-watched NFL game since 1996.

Actually, don't bother. It was Sunday's Dallas Cowboys' 37-21 win vs. the Atlanta Falcons on Fox — a solid game, but hardly the stuff of legend.

_______________________

You must be logged in to contribute.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Accelerate Your Sports Broadcasting Career

Uncover secrets to sports broadcasting success.

Meet Employers

Let sports talk, sports anchor and play-by-lay employers find you.

Secrets Revealed

Start improving your sportscasting in just 15 minutes from now!

Radio Demos, Resumes

You only get once chance to make a first impression. Make yours count.

TV Demos, Resumes

Get yourself noticed. Get the job.

Sports Broadcasting Books

Highly recommended reading for sports broadcasters of all levels.

Sportscastings Jobs

Free radio and TV sportscasting job listings.

Show Prep Links

The best sites for sports talk show prep.

Sportscasting jobs, sportscasting careers, sportscasting schools, broadcasting jobs, broadcasting careers, broadcasting schools, sports, sporting events, sports tickets, sports gambling, online sports gaming, sports news, sports podcasting, television careers, radio careers, television broadcasting, broadcaster training, radio training, sportscaster training, radio broadcasting, television schools, television broadcasting, television training, play-by-play, sports talk radio, sports reporting, football, basketball, baseball, NBA, NFL, MLB, hockey, NHL acting, models, actors, modeling, voice over, voice artists