Connect with us
Jim Cutler Demos

Sports TV News

17 Reasons Why The NFL Dominates On TV

Jason Barrett

Published

on

Extra, extra, read all about it! People love to watch NFL games. This is not news, of course, we all know this. But the extent to which America loves the NFL is even more staggering than you think. Here are some facts about the NFL’s television year-round dominance, not just at the Super Bowl.

1. The top 12 shows of the 2015 fall season have all been NFL games, led by the 29.4 million viewers who tuned in for the Seattle-Dallas game on Nov. 1. In all, 26 of the top 27 programs were professional football games, with only the first Republican primary debate interrupting the dominance with an appearance at No. 13.

2. This is nothing new. Usually, the fall season is completely dominated by the NFL (the No. 28 and No. 29 shows right now — the seasons premiers of The Big Bang Theory and NCIS, respectively, will be long gone by the time the season ends). Usually, only one other program — the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade — cracks the top 30 of fall television. With the Donald Trump-led debate anomaly this year, there should be two non-NFL shows in the top 30 by New Year’s Eve, a veritable bonanza for non-NFL programming.

3. In 2015, the top 20 and 45 of the 50 most-watched shows of the fall season were NFL games. Sunday Night Football was the No. 1 show in all 17 weeks of primetime.

4. Everyone assumes primetime is king, but the biggest ratings are actually for the 4:25 p.m. ET games that alternate weekly between CBS and Fox. (You’d think baseball would see this and have a daytime, weekend World Series game for a change.)

Average viewers per telecast:

Fox (late afternoon) — 26.8 million

CBS (late afternoon) — 24.1 million

Sunday Night Football (NBC)– 23.7 million

Thursday Night Football (CBS/NFLN) — 17.6 million

1 p.m. games on Fox and CBS — 16.3 million

Monday Night Football (ESPN) — 13.0 million

(The CBS and Fox ratings are averaged from their respective doubleheader games through Week 10, via ratings from various sources, including sportsmediawatch.com.)

5. This year’s Week 1 had the most overall viewers for any opening week in NFL history.

6. In most weeks, the No. 1 television show in the NFL’s TV markets is that week’s NFL game. (It happened in Week 8, among many others.) When the NFL game isn’t at the top, it tends to be because a college game has leapfrogged it for a week.

7. Last week’s Browns-Bengals game was the first Thursday game to solely appear this season on NFL Network. Even that dog of a game did a good number, scoring 8.8 million viewers, the seventh most in the history of the network. But, as Sports Media Watch points out, that was the second-worst viewership of the season for any NFL game, with the 8.4 million who watched the early London game in Week 8 between the Lions and Chiefs. (That doesn’t include the Yahoo! game, which had numbers that were likely anemic when compared to broadcast games — don’t believe the spin.)

8. It’s been a steady climb for SNF. When it started in 2006, it ranked 9th, with American Idol at No. 1. SNF kept climbing until 2011, when it was the No. 1 show on all of television.

9. But then there are some oddities: Last week, for instance, the NFL’s primetime shows (Thursday/Sunday/Monday) were 17th, 1st and 8th in total viewers. (That doesn’t include the Fox or CBS game.)

10. This week’s Monday Night Football game — Bears-Chargers — had a season-low 11.4 million viewers, but that still would have ranked 13th for the week. However, that aforementioned Thursday game — the one with 8.8 million viewers — had the same amount of eyes on it as Survivor, a reality show that’s been around for 15 years and 31 seasons. (BTW, Survivor still rules. I know most people don’t realize it’s still on, but it’s a great show that’s more like sports than you’d ever imagine. I can’t recommend it more highly.)

To read 11-17 visit the USA Today which is where this article was originally published

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sports TV News

Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Avatar photo

Published

on

Erin Andrews

FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports TV News

Curt Menefee and Joel Klatt to be Lead Fox Sports UFL Broadcast Team

Curt Menefee, Joel Klatt, and Brock Huard will make up the first XFL on FOX announce team, while Kevin Kugler, Devin Gardner, and Jake Butt are the #2 team.

Avatar photo

Published

on

The United Football League logo

FOX is ready for the United Football League (UFL) season and recently announced its broadcast lineup for the upcoming season. Curt Menefee returns to the booth alongside Joel Klatt to make up the primary UFL commentary team. Joining Menefee and Klatt from the sidelines will be former NFL and University of Washington QB Brock Huard.

Menefee and Klatt will call the season-opening matchup between the defending two-time USFL Champion Birmingham Stallions and the reigning XFL Champion Arlington Renegades on Saturday, Mar. 30 at 1 p.m. ET. The second team of Kevin Kugler and former Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner will call the second game of the day when the St. Louis Battlehawks take on the Michigan Panthers at 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX. Former Denver Broncos tight end Jake Butt will man the sidelines for that game.

Former NFL and USC QB Mark Sanchez was also mentioned in the FOX news release but details of his involvement were not made clear.

The UFL season kicks off on FOX this weekend and continues over on ESPN. Both networks will split coverage of the league all season long.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports TV News

CBS Sports Host James Brown To Receive Lifetime Achievement Award at Sports Emmys

“I am incredibly humbled by this award. I know full well that it’s not as much about me as it is about all the people with whom…I worked over all these years.”

Avatar photo

Published

on

James Brown
Courtesy: Mary Kouw, CBS

Longtime CBS Sports host James Brown will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 45th Sports Emmys. The awards show announced the news via its X account last night:

Brown is a three-time Sports Emmy winner for his work on CBS’ The NFL Today and previously FOX’s The NFL On FOX, and HBO’s Inside the NFL. Brown’s career spans more than 30 years and includes numerous accolades such as the Pete Rozelle Award from the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the Uncommon Award from Tony Dungy.

He was named “Best Studio Host of the Decade” by Sports Illustrated in 2010 and was honored with the 2009 Dick Schaap Memorial Award for Media Excellence. In 1998 he was awarded the Golden Mic Award by the Black Broadcasters Alliance. Brown was elected into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2021.

“I am incredibly humbled by this award,” Brown said via the Sports Emmys. “I know full well that it’s not as much about me as it is about all the people with whom and for whom I worked over all these years. Thank God for the blessing!”

Sports media came together to honor Brown’s achievement:

Brown and other award recipients will be honored at the Sports Emmys award ceremony in May.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

Barrett Media Writers

Copyright © 2024 Barrett Media.