The NFL season begins one week from tomorrow, and if preseason is any indication, it’s going to be another very strong year for the league.
Preseason games on Fox and NBC have drawn the networks’ best ratings in years, thanks to a number of unusually intriguing storylines, which promise to continue well into the regular season.
NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” preseason game between the Chicago Bears and the Denver Broncos averaged 10.4 million total viewers, the best showing for a preseason game on any network in three years, since the Oakland Raiders and Philadelphia Eagles drew 10.6 million on NBC.
That came a week and a half after Fox’s Philadelphia Eagles-Indianapolis Colts preseason game drew the network’s best preseason rating in two years among adults 18-49, averaging a 2.4 rating.
Both games had big storylines to push viewership, storylines that will carry over into September and beyond to attract bigger audiences.
The Eagles game came just days after the team signed Michael Vick, the controversial convicted dog fighter, and three-time Pro Bowl quarterback. Curiosity over how Vick copes with the protests against him and his absence from football during a jail stint will continue throughout the season.
The Broncos game featured former QB Jay Cutler returning to Denver for the first time since a nasty split with his former team in the offseason.
Other juicy off-field plots this season include former NFL MVP Tom Brady’s return to the field after a year away due to knee injury and future Hall of Famer Brett Favre’s recent unretirement to join the Minnesota Vikings, a bitter rival of his former team, the Green Bay Packers.
The regular season kicks off on Sept. 9 on NBC when the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers host the Tennessee Titans.
***
Meanwhile, in broadcast ratings for the week ended Aug. 30:
Among adults 18-49, CBS and NBC tied for first with a 1.8 average rating and a 6 share, followed by Fox at 1.7/5, Univision at 1.3/4, ABC at 1.2/4, MyNetworkTV at 0.5/2, CW at 0.5/1, Telemundo and Telefutura at 0.4/1, Ion at 0.2/0 and Azteca at 0.1/0.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (18-49s): 1. Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” 3.6; 2. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 3.5; 3. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent – Tuesday” 3.1; 4. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent – Wednesday” 3.0; 5. CBS’s “The Big Bang Theory” 2.9.
Top five English-language Big Five shows (total viewers): 1. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent - Tuesday” 11.46 million; 2. NBC’s “America’s Got Talent - Wednesday” 11.19 million; 3. NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” 10.38 million; 4. CBS’s “NCIS” 10.06 million; 5. CBS’s “60 Minutes” 9.71 million.
Top five time-shifted English-language Big Five shows (18-49s, by Live+7 playback, week ended Aug. 9): 1. Fox’s “Hell’s Kitchen” 1.60 million (up 32 percent); 2. Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance - Thursday” 1.51 million (up 28 percent); 3. Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance - Wednesday” 1.43 million (up 34 percent); 4. CBS’s “Big Brother-Sunday” 1.26 million (up 36 percent); 5. CBS’s “Big Brother – Thursday” 1.22 million (up 36 percent).
Show on the rise: “How I Met Your Mother,” CBS, Monday 8 p.m. The first of back-to-back repeats averaged a 1.9 rating among 18-49s, up 36 percent from the previous week’s 1.4.
Show on the decline: “Dateline,” NBC, Monday 10 p.m. The Monday edition slipped 17 percent week-to-week among 18-49s, from a 1.8 rating to a 1.5.
WEEKLY PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 30
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
4.3
4910
8
2.3
6600
6
1.8
2370
6
NBC
4.1
4720
7
2.2
6370
6
1.8
2420
6
FOX
2.9
3350
5
1.6
4780
5
1.7
2290
5
ABC
2.5
2860
4
1.3
3840
4
1.2
1590
4
UNI
1.7
1940
3
1.1
3180
3
1.3
1680
4
MNT
0.9
1080
2
0.5
1530
1
0.5
650
2
CW
0.9
1070
2
0.5
1340
1
0.5
620
1
ION
0.5
550
1
0.2
700
1
0.2
200
0
TEL
0.5
540
1
0.3
950
1
0.4
590
1
TF
0.5
540
1
0.3
930
1
0.4
580
1
AZA
0.1
120
0
0.1
160
0
0.1
100
0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 145 million homes
Source: Nielsen Media Research
SEASON-TO-DATE PRIMETIME AVERAGES BY NETWORK Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 30
Network
Households
People 2+
Adults 18-49
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
Rtg%
(000)
Shr
CBS
6.2
7070
11
3.4
9780
9
2.5
3280
7
FOX
4.8
5450
8
2.7
7950
7
2.9
3810
8
ABC
4.6
5320
8
2.5
7280
7
2.3
3020
7
NBC
4.2
4830
7
2.3
6740
6
2.2
2950
6
UNI
1.9
2140
3
1.3
3700
3
1.5
1930
4
CW
1.1
1230
2
0.6
1610
1
0.7
890
2
MNT
1.0
1130
2
0.5
1580
1
0.5
680
2
TEL
0.6
660
1
0.4
1150
1
0.5
670
1
ION
0.4
480
1
0.2
630
1
0.2
210
0
TF
0.4
420
1
0.2
710
1
0.3
420
1
AZA
0.1
120
0
0.1
180
0
0.1
110
0
*Each rating point is equivalent to 1. 145 million homes
Note: Season-to-date estimates are a weighted average of pre-TSV and Live+SD data.
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 30
#
PROGRAMS
Net
HOUSEHOLDS
PERSONS 2+
Rtg%
Shr
(000)
#
Rtg%
(000)
1
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE
NBC
7.0
12
7983
1
4.0
11463
2
AMERICAGOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
6.9
11
7856
2
3.9
11193
3
NBC NFL PRE-SEASON 8/30(S)
NBC
6.5
11
7454
3
3.6
10381
4
60 MINUTES
CBS
6.4
12
7341
5
3.3
9712
4
NCIS
CBS
6.4
11
7316
4
3.5
10064
6
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
6.2
10
7074
5
3.3
9552
7
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
5.5
9
6304
7
3.0
8562
7
CSI
CBS
5.5
9
6245
8
2.9
8404
7
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
5.5
10
6253
9
2.8
8073
10
MENTALIST, THE-10PM SP(S)
CBS
5.1
9
5798
12
2.6
7586
11
BIG BROTHER 11-THU
CBS
4.8
8
5446
10
2.7
7792
11
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
4.8
8
5544
15
2.5
7219
13
BIG BROTHER 11-SUN
CBS
4.5
8
5183
12
2.6
7436
13
BIG BROTHER 11-TUE
CBS
4.5
7
5187
15
2.5
7269
15
CSI: NY
CBS
4.4
8
5062
19
2.2
6433
15
DATELINE FRI
NBC
4.4
8
5076
17
2.3
6546
15
HELL'S KITCHEN
FOX
4.4
8
5049
10
2.7
7773
18
DATELINE NBC-MON
NBC
4.3
7
4885
22
2.1
5967
18
WIPEOUT
ABC
4.3
8
4936
12
2.6
7629
20
AMERICAGOT TALENT:RECAP
NBC
4.2
7
4820
17
2.3
6571
20
LAW & ORDER:SVU-WED 9PM
NBC
4.2
7
4845
22
2.1
6039
22
NFL PRE-SEASON(S)
CBS
4.1
8
4659
19
2.2
6285
23
AMERICAGOT TALENT-TUE 8P
NBC
3.9
7
4475
24
2.0
5891
24
COLD CASE
CBS
3.8
7
4353
24
2.0
5723
24
CRIMINAL MINDS
CBS
3.8
6
4394
24
2.0
5708
Source: Nielsen Media Research
TOP 25 PROGRAMS – BROADCAST Adults 18-49
Week Ending August 30
Rank
Program
Net
Rtg%
(000)
1
HELL'S KITCHEN
FOX
3.6
4707
2
NBC NFL PRE-SEASON 8/30(S)
NBC
3.5
4671
3
AMERICA'S GOT TALENT-TUE
NBC
3.1
4050
4
AMERICAGOT TALENT-WED 9P
NBC
3.0
3959
5
BIG BANG THEORY, THE
CBS
2.9
3886
5
TWO AND A HALF MEN
CBS
2.9
3784
7
BIG BROTHER 11-THU
CBS
2.7
3580
8
BIG BROTHER 11-SUN
CBS
2.6
3422
8
WIPEOUT
ABC
2.6
3424
10
BIG BROTHER 11-TUE
CBS
2.5
3340
10
SIMPSONS-SUN 8:30P
FOX
2.5
3238
12
FAMILY GUY
FOX
2.4
3215
13
HOW I MET YR MOTHER 830PM
CBS
2.2
2926
14
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE TUE
UNI
2.1
2738
14
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE WED
UNI
2.1
2791
14
NFL ON FOX PRESEASON 3(S)
FOX
2.1
2786
14
NFL PRE-SEASON(S)
CBS
2.1
2742
14
SIMPSONS
FOX
2.1
2748
19
AMERICAN DAD
FOX
2.0
2636
19
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE MON
UNI
2.0
2696
19
MANANA
PARA SIEMPRE THU
UNI
2.0
2600
22
CRASH COURSE
ABC
1.9
2451
22
CSI:
MIAMI
CBS
1.9
2494
22
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER
CBS
1.9
2560
22
MENTALIST, THE
CBS
1.9
2450
Source: Nielsen Media Research
SPANISH-LANGUAGE TELEVISION (WEEKLY COLLAPSED) Ranked on Households
Week Ending August 23
