It use to be that a sporting event that aired on a cable station automatically got a lower rating versus one aired on one of the free over the air networks. The NFL is slowly breaking that mold, and given the numbers there is no wonder why the NFL is pushing for more games in their season and more games on their very own network.
For the Week of December 14th to the 20th, the NFL Network earned the highest average cable rating with a 2.77. The Dallas Cowboys-New Orleans Saints game that aired on the NFL network drew in 10.5 million cable viewers. That figure easily beat other sports playoff games that also aired on cable stations. The NBA playoff game between the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers (aired on TNT) came closest with 10.1 million cable viewers.
The 10.5 million viewers easily crushed the viewership for the NLCS game five number of 8 million viewers. That game also aired on TNT and featured the Philadelphia Phillies and the Los Angeles Dodgers. It also severely crushed the Stanley Cup finals game aired on Versus featuring a contest between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins. That match up had just 3.4 million viewer, once again cementing the NHL’s status as the fourth of fifth most popular American sport.
The Indianapolis Colts/Jacksonville Jaguars match up from December 17th has the second highest audience in the history of the NFL network. That broadcast averaged 6.2 million viewers. Overall ratings for Thursday Night football on the NFL network are up over 57% over 2008.
ESPN is also scoring big numbers with their Monday Night Football broadcasts. Many were skeptical about moving MNF from ABC to ESPN, but the December 20th match up between the San Francisco 49ers and the Arizona Cardinals (hardly a national caliber match up) drew a 9.6 rating and easily owning the night.
In fact MNF broadcasts on ESPN have been crushing all cable competitors. As 14 of them in 2009 have the highest TV audiences and average households tuned into the broadcast. In fact NFL broadcasts on cable are leading in every key TV demographic.
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