Tuesday's 'Sunday Night Football' Is First In Ratings

Last night's special Tuesday edition of "Sunday Night Football" was the top-rated show on Tuesday, the 16th straight week that primetime football on NBC defeated its nightly competition. The game, which was originally supposed to be played on Sunday but was delayed by the NFL due to the severe weather in Philadelphia, led NBC to a convincing win on Tuesday night and was up 31 percent over last year's Week 16 game, according to overnight data released today by the Nielsen Company. The game, in which the Minnesota Vikings upset the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-14, in the first NFL Tuesday game since 1946, registered a 15.2 overnight rating and a 24 share (8:15-11:15 p.m. ET).

The 15.2/24 overnight rating is an increase of 31 percent over last year's Week 16 game that featured an NFC East matchup between the Cowboys and the Redskins, which delivered an overnight rating of 11.6/19.

The rating peaked at a 16.5/28 from 11-11:15 p.m. ET.

The 15.2 overnight ties last week's Packers-Patriots game and Week 2's Giants-Colts Manning Bowl II as the fifth-highest overnight for a "Sunday Night Football" game this season and the best Week 16 game in the five-year history of SNF.

"SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" WEEK 16 THROUGH THE YEARS:

1. 2010, Vikings-Eagles, 15.2/24 (Tuesday Night Game) 2. 2008, Panthers-Giants, 12.9/21 - up 18 percent 3. 2006, Eagles-Cowboys, 12.5/29 - up 22 percent 4. 2009, Cowboys-Redskins, 11.6/19 - up 31 percent 5. 2007, Redskins-Vikings, 9.9/17 - up 54 percent

DEFEATED ALL TUESDAY NIGHT COMPETITION: Last night's Tuesday edition of "Sunday Night Football" defeated all Tuesday Night competition, the 16th straight week that primetime NFL football on NBC defeated its competition, on a night that included such original competition as CBS's Kennedy Center Honors and encores of CBS's NCIS, ABC's Rudolph's Shiny New Year, No Ordinary Family and Detroit 1-8-7, and Fox's Glee.

"Sunday Night Football" powered NBC to a Tuesday night win in primetime, with NBC's 14.7/24 average from 8-11 p.m. ET more than doubling second-place CBS (7.1/11) and topping The Combined results of CBS, Fox (3.1/5) and ABC (2.3/4).

Tuesday's edition of SNF delivered the highest Tuesday metered-market average for any network this season. The prior high was a 12.4 for ABC on November 23, the night of the "Dancing With the Stars" finale.

SNF IS 16 FOR 16: When the viewership is available tomorrow from Nielsen, "Sunday Night Football" is expected to be the most-watched Tuesday night show, the 16th straight time this season that SNF defeated its nightly competition (every week this season). Last season, SNF was the most-watched Sunday night primetime broadcast in a record 15 of 16 (94 percent) weeks. In 2008, SNF won 13 of 16 (81 percent) Sunday nights after winning 11 of 16 in 2007 (69 percent) and nine of 16 in 2006 (56 percent).

TOP METERED MARKETS FOR VIKINGS-EAGLES:

Minneapolis, 38.4/57
Philadelphia, 36.3/53
New Orleans, 29.1/39
Norfolk, 22.9/35
Richmond, 21.8/35
Milwaukee, 19.9/31
Baltimore, 19.6/31
Las Vegas, 19.1/31
Atlanta, 18.2/27
Ft. Myers, 17.9/28

About NBC Sports

NBC Sports is synonymous with superior production that elevates the event, broad promotion, and mutually-beneficial partnerships. Known as America's Olympic Network, NBC has broadcast 12 Olympic Games, more than any other network. Its ability to amass large audiences with broad promotion, particularly for the Olympics, has resulted in NBC Sports broadcasting nine of the top 10 most-watched events in U.S. television history, including the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games which stands at No. 1 all time with 215 million viewers. In 2009, NBC Sports won the prestigious Peabody Award for its production of the Beijing Games and was named 'Best in Sports Television' at the Sports Business Awards.

NBC Sports partners with numerous leagues and governing bodies to broadcast some of the most prestigious properties in sports, including: 'NBC Sunday Night Football,' which is the premier primetime NFL game of the week; 'Football Night in America,' which is the most-watched NFL studio program; Notre Dame football; the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes; the U.S. Open Championship, The Players Championship, and the Ryder Cup; the NHL Winter Classic, NHL 'Game of the Week,' and NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs and Final; and Wimbledon and the French Open.

 

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