The Cowboys-Giants game on NBC earned the highest overnight rating in the six-year history of Sunday Night Football on NBC, according to overnight data released today by The Nielsen Company.
This week’s game on NBC, in which the Giants defeated the Cowboys, 31-14, to win the NFC East, registered a 17.1 overnight rating and a 27 share, 36 percent higher than last year’s Week 17 game (Rams-Seahawks, 12.6/19), which was also a win-and-in game to determine the winner of the NFC West, and topped the previous high Sunday Night Football overnight by one percent (Cowboys-Jets, 16.9/27 in Week 1 this season).
Other Ratings Notes:
Best overnight for ANY NFL primetime Sunday or Monday game in 13 years (Broncos-Dolphins, 17.4/27, Dec. 21, 1998 on ABC).
Best overnight rating for an NFL primetime regular-season final game in 17 years (49ers-Vikings, 19.6/33, Dec. 26, 1994 on ABC).
TOP 10 SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL OVERNIGHT RATING/SHARE EVER:
*Sunday’s only
1. 1/1/12, Cowboys-Giants 17.1/27
2. 9/11/11, Cowboys-Jets 16.9/27 (2011 SNF Week 1)
T3. 9/20/09, Giants-Cowboys 16.5/27 (Dallas Cowboys Stadium Debut)
T3. 12/12/10, Eagles-Cowboys 16.5/25 (2010 SNF Week 14)
5. 9/12/10, Cowboys-Redskins 16.4/26 (2010 SNF Opener)
6. 12/11/11, Giants-Cowboys 16.1/25 (2011 SNF Opener)
7. 10/24/10, Vikings/Packers 16.0/25 (Favre’s Return to Lambeau II)
8. 11/21/10, Giants-Eagles 15.9/24 (2010 SNF Week 11)
9. 9/18/11, Eagles-Falcons 15.7/25 (2011 SNF Week 2)
10. 11/25/07, Eagles-Patriots 15.6/24 (2007 SNF Week 12)
*9/9/10, Vikings-Saints, 17.7/28 (2010 Thursday Night Opener)
*9/8/11, Saints-Packers, 17.2/28 (2011 Thursday Night Opener)
TOP 10 METERED MARKETS FOR COWBOYS-GIANTS:
1. Dallas, 37.1/55
2. San Antonio, 27.2/39
3. Austin, 26.3/42
T4. New York, 25.3/38
T4. Albuquerque, 25.3/38
T6. New Orleans, 24.7/34
T6. Richmond, 24.7/36
8. Washington D.C., 22.2/37
9. Norfolk, 22.0/32
10. Las Vegas, 21.8/33
This week’s Sunday Night Football broadcast won the highest-rated program of the night. NBC led the night among metered markets in primetime (7-11 p.m. ET) with a 12.9/21, topping the 7.5/12 for CBS, which was boosted by an NFL overrun. NBC also beat Fox (3.0/5) by 330 percent and ABC (2.5/4) by 416 percent.
(source; NBC)
