NFL Network's First Four Games Post 53% Ratings Gain
Audience Grows 77% To 5.3 Million, Midway Through Net's Primetime Slate
By Mike Reynolds -- Multichannel News, 12/14/2007 10:25:00 AM
Halfway into its 2007 slate of primetime games, NFL Network has seen its coverage ratings increase by more than half.
NFL Network, through its Dec. 13 match-up between the Denver Broncos-Houston Texans, averaged an 8.1 coverage area rating for the first four games of its sophomore season, according to Nielsen Media Research data. That mark represents a 53% jump in ratings from the midway point of its rookie year, according to network officials.
All told, NFL Network averaged 5.3 million for its first four games in 2007, a 77% rise from 3 million at the same point last season. Among the Madison Avenue-coveted set, NFL Network garnered a 59% jump to a 7.6 rating against adults 18 to 49, said the network.
The Dec. 13 contest tackled a 5.5 rating, up 13% from the 4.9 for the corresponding tilt in 2006, the San Francisco 49ers vs. the Seattle Seahawks. Viewership improved 29% to 3.3 million from 2.6 million.
Moreover, the Texans-Broncos game was cable's top-rated show, extending NFL Network's string to a dozen in which its Thursday Night Football and Saturday Night Football have led the medium when it presented live game action.
That string will be put to the test on Saturday Dec. 15 with the contest matching the 5-8 Cincinnati Bengals against the 3-10 San Francisco, two of the league's most disappointing teams, in a tilt that barely holds any playoff implications.
Nielsen estimates NFL Network's universe at 43 million households.
VIEW ALL PODCASTS
