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BACK TO FOOTBALL!
MORE THAN 105 MILLION FANS TUNE IN ON KICKOFF WEEKEND
Kickoff Weekend Games 3 of 6 Most-Watched Non-Olympic TV Shows Since Super Bowl XLVISteelers-Broncos on NBC Highest-Rated Sunday Night Football Game EverNFL Games Top Ratings in All 30 NFL Markets
NFL Network& NFL Digital Media Post Opening Weekend RecordsBeginning with the Wednesday night NFL season opener, viewers across the country got Back to Football and tuned into NFL games and visited NFL digital media properties in record numbers.
A total of 105.9 million fans tuned into Kickoff Weekend games (Sept. 5-10) on CBS, ESPN, FOX and NBC to mark the third consecutive Kickoff Weekend with a total reach exceeding 105 million viewers.
Also for the third consecutive season, three Kickoff Weekend game telecasts topped 23 million average viewers — NBC Sunday night game (Steelers-Broncos, 27.6 million), FOX national game telecast (mostly 49ers-Packers, 26.4 million) and the NBC Wednesday Kickoff game (Cowboys-Giants, 23.9 million). Those telecasts rank as three of the six most-watched non-Olympic programs among all television shows since Super Bowl XLVI.
Below are additional records and highlights from Kickoff Weekend.
NATIONAL
- NBC’s Sunday Night Football opener (Steelers-Broncos) posted the highest rating ever for a Sunday night game (16.5). The average of 27.57 million viewers for Steelers-Broncos ranks second in NBC Sunday night history (27.62 million viewers for Cowboys-Giants on Jan. 1, 2012).
- With 26.4 million average viewers, the FOX national telecast (mostly 49ers-Packers) posted its second-best Kickoff Sunday ever (28.0 million for Packers-Eagles in 2010).
LOCAL
- NFL games ranked first in all 30 NFL markets for the fourth consecutive Kickoff Weekend. NFL games also topped the ratings in 55 of Nielsen’s 56 metered markets — up from 53 of 56 metered markets in 2011. In addition, the second-highest rated show in 29 of the 30 NFL markets was also NFL programming.
- Four teams delivered record-setting ratings for season-openers in their home markets led by Baltimore (40.9 rating) followed by San Diego (37.8), Seattle (27.5), and the Super Bowl XLVI champion New York Giants (20.0).
- Five clubs (Denver, San Francisco, Pittsburgh, San Diego and Seattle) posted local ratings increases of more than 20 percent for Week 1.
NFL NETWORK & NFL DIGITAL MEDIA
- NFL Network posted its best-ever Kickoff Sunday viewership with an average of 307,000 viewers tuning for the debut of the new First on the Field at 7:00 AM ET, plusNFL GameDay Morning, NFL GameDay Highlights and NFL GameDay Final.
- NFL Digital Media properties, including NFL Mobile, saw a 38 percent increase in visits for the 2012 NFL Kickoff Weekend.
- Mobile specific properties, including NFL Mobile, had an 83 percent increase in user visits and a 59 percent increase in time spent.
Following is the list of all 30 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Sept. 3-9:
Week of 9/3 – 9/9
HH
HH
RTG
Market Game Date
RTG
SHR
Rank
Pittsburgh Steelers at Broncos 9/9/2012
50.3
70
1
Milwaukee 49ers at Packers 9/9/2012
47.3
71
1
New Orleans Redskins at Saints 9/9/2012
45.6
67
1
Denver Steelers at Broncos 9/9/2012
44.6
68
1
Dallas Cowboys at Giants 9/5/2012
34.0
50
1
Kansas City Falcons at Chiefs 9/9/2012
33.6
62
1
Boston Patriots at Titans 9/9/2012
33.5
60
1
Indianapolis Colts at Bears 9/9/2012
31.9
55
1
Minneapolis Jaguars at Vikings 9/9/2012
30.2
66
1
Buffalo Bills at Jets 9/9/2012
28.7
51
1
Chicago Colts at Bears 9/9/2012
28.1
57
1
Cleveland Eagles at Browns 9/9/2012
27.5
53
1
Seattle Seahawks at Cardinals 9/9/2012
27.5
57
1
Nashville Patriots at Titans 9/9/2012
27.4
49
1
Detroit Rams at Lions 9/9/2012
25.1
52
1
Philadelphia Eagles at Browns 9/9/2012
24.9
47
1
Charlotte Panthers at Bucs 9/9/2012
24.6
42
1
Washington, DC Redskins at Saints 9/9/2012
24.5
51
1
Jacksonville Jaguars at Vikings 9/9/2012
23.0
38
1
San Diego Steelers at Broncos 9/9/2012
22.7
37
1
Houston Dolphins at Texans 9/9/2012
22.2
44
1
Phoenix Seahawks at Cardinals 9/9/2012
21.9
41
1
Baltimore Steelers at Broncos 9/9/2012
21.9
34
1
Cincinnati Steelers at Broncos 9/9/2012
21.5
34
1
San Fran-Oakland 49ers at Packers 9/9/2012
20.9
50
1
New York Cowboys at Giants 9/5/2012
20.0
29
1
St. Louis Rams at Lions 9/9/2012
19.3
41
1
Atlanta Falcons at Chiefs 9/9/2012
18.5
38
1
Tampa Steelers at Broncos 9/9/2012
17.5
31
1
Miami Dolphins at Texans 9/9/2012
13.5
29
1