NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
280 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017
(212) 450-2000 * FAX (212) 681-7573
WWW.NFLMedia.com
Joe Browne, Executive Vice President-Communications
Greg Aiello, Vice President-Public Relations
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NFL 1/9/07
NFL 2006 TV RECAP
VIEWERSHIP INCREASES FOR ALL TV PARTNERS
MORE THAN 220 MILLION AMERICANS WATCHED NFL GAMES
NFL RATES RECORD 66 PERCENT HIGHER THAN OTHER PRIMETIME PROGRAMMING
NFL GAMES ARE 3 OF TOP 7 NETWORK PROGRAMS;
TOP 5 AMONG MEN 18-49; TOP 16 CABLECASTS
Football fans across America continued to tune their televisions to NFL games in large and growing
numbers in 2006. According to Nielsen Media Research, 222 million Americans (up from 195.8
million in 2005) – or approximately three-quarters of the U.S. population – watched NFL games in
2006; and all NFL TV partners experienced increases in viewership for their NFL games.
In 2006 – the first year of new television contracts featuring “flexible scheduling” and earlier start
times for primetime games – viewership increased on all NFL TV partners for the first time since
2002.
INCREASED VIEWERSHIP ON ALL NFL TELEVISION PARTNERS
Network Average Viewers Increase From 2005
CBS 15.2 million +1%
FOX 16.6 million +5%
NBC 17.5 million +7%*
ESPN 12.3 million +41%**
NFL Network 4.1 million --
Source: NFL, Nielsen Media Research
*compared to ABC MNF in 2005
**compared to ESPN SNF in 2005
In addition, NFL viewership on broadcast television finished ahead of network primetime viewership
by its widest margin ever. NFL games on CBS, FOX and NBC averaged 16.3 million viewers – 66
percent higher than the average primetime viewership among the four major over-the-air
networks (9.8 million average on ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC).
NFL VS. PRIMETIME VIEWERSHIP ON BROADCAST TV
NFL on Broadcast NFL
Broadcast Primetime % Advantage
2002 Avg. Viewers 15.8 million 10.3 million 52%
2003 Avg. Viewers 15.5 million 9.9 million 56%
2004 Avg. Viewers 15.4 million 9.8 million 57%
2005 Avg. Viewers 15.6 million 9.7 million 61%
2006 Avg. Viewers 16.3 million 9.8 million 66%
Source: NFL & Nielsen Media Research. NFL regular season on Broadcast television
(CBS, FOX & NBC…ABC prior to 2006). Broadcast primetime on BIG 4 networks (ABC, CBS,
NBC & FOX) all programs, NFL regular season dates used.
Consider these additional end-of-season facts:
• 2006 NFL national games on NBC, CBS (Sunday national & Thanksgiving) and FOX (Sunday
national & Thanksgiving) averaged a 12.1 rating which exceeds playoff broadcast averages for
other sports: 2006 NBA Playoffs (3.8 rating) & NBA Finals (8.5 rating) on ABC; 2006 MLB
Playoffs (6.0 rating) & 2006 World Series (10.1 rating) on FOX.
• NFL games account for 3 of the top 7 programs on network television this season (chart
below). In addition, NFL games account for the top seven (and 9 of the top 10) programs
among men 18-49 (chart below).
• ESPN NFL games accounted for the 16 most-watched basic cable programs in 2006 (chart
below).
• NFL Network concluded its inaugural Thursday and Saturday Night Football package with
each of its eight games ranking as the top-rated show of the day among all programs on cable
networks. The games averaged a 5.4 cable rating and (including fans who watched locally
over the air) 4.1 million viewers.
• NFL games were the top-ranked program locally a record 80 percent of the time – up from
69.3 percent in 2005 and surpassing the previous record of 73 percent set in 2003. That
means that eight of 10 times the NFL game drew higher local ratings than Dancing with the
Stars, CSI or any other popular TV show.
Following are the top network television programs nationally in average total viewers each week:
Network Program Viewers
1. FOX Sunday National Game 21.8 million
2. Desperate Housewives 20.7 million
3. Dancing With The Stars 20.5 million
4. CBS Sunday National Game 19.5 million
5. Dancing With The Stars Results 19.0 million
6. CSI 18.8 million
7. NBC Sunday Night Football 17.0 million*
8. Grey’s Anatomy 16.9 million
9. CSI: Miami 16.1 million
10. Deal Or No Deal 16.0 million
*does not include Kickoff or Christmas games
Following are this season’s top 10 programs on network television in a key demographic (avg. rating):
Men 18-49
Program Rating
1. FOX Sunday National Game 11.3
2. CBS Sunday National Game 9.7
3. NBC Sunday Night Football 9.1
4. FOX Sunday Single Game 7.9
5. CBS Sunday Single Game 7.2
6. The OT (FOX NFL Postgame) 6.8
7. FOX Sunday Regional Game 6.4
8. Heroes 6.1
9. NBC Sunday Night Pre-Kick 5.9
10. CBS Sunday Regional Game 5.8
Broadcast Notes:
Regional -- First window of a doubleheader
National -- Second window of a doubleheader
Single -- Only window on network not airing doubleheader that week.
Source: NFL, Nielsen Media Research, 9/7/06-12/31/06
Following are the 10 most-watched regular-season games in 2006:
Date Program (Game) Viewers
Dec. 3 FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Giants) 27.6 million
Nov. 26 FOX Sunday National (mostly Bears-Patriots) 24.2 million
Nov. 23 FOX Thanksgiving Day (Bucs-Cowboys) 23.8 million
Nov. 19 CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Cowboys) 23.4 million
Dec. 25 NBC Christmas Day (Eagles-Cowboys) 23.2 million
Sept. 10 FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Jaguars) 22.7 million
Sept. 10 NBC Sunday Night (Colts-Giants) 22.6 million
Oct. 8 FOX Sunday National (Cowboys-Eagles) 22.1 million
Oct. 29 CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Broncos) 21.97 million
Nov. 5 NBC Sunday Night (Colts-Patriots) 21.95 million
Source: NFL, Nielsen Media Research, 9/7/06-12/31/06
Following are the 10 most watched programs on basic cable in 2006:
Program, Date Viewers
1. ESPN Monday Night Football (Giants-Cowboys), 10/23 16.0 million
2. ESPN Monday Night Football (Falcons-Saints), 9/25 15.0 million
3. ESPN Monday Night Football (Bears-Cardinals), 10/16 14.23 million
4. ESPN Monday Night Football (Bengals-Colts), 12/18 14.22 million
5. ESPN Monday Night Football (Steelers-Jaguars), 9/18 13.3 million
6. ESPN Monday Night Football (Packers-Eagles), 10/2 12.9 million
7. ESPN Monday Night Football (Packers-Seahawks), 11/27 12.7 million
8. ESPN Monday Night Football (Vikings-Redskins), 9/11 12.6 million
9. ESPN Monday Night Football (Ravens-Broncos), 10/9 12.5 million
10. ESPN Monday Night Football (Patriots-Vikings), 10/30 11.9 million
Source: NFL, Nielsen Media Research, 9/7/06-12/31/06
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