Ratings Roundup: Sunday Night Football Hits Lowest Ratings Valley in Week 2 Since 2007 By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor
Friday, September 20, 2019 - 9:10 am
Print This Story
Story Highlights
Ratings roundup is a rundown of rating news from the past week and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week's edition, NBC Sports leads NFL Week 2 ratings without a dive in numbers this week, college football rolls on, and Fox Sports' recent episode of PBC Fight Camp becomes the most-watched in 2019.
Sunday Night Football Scores Lowest Week 2 Number in 12 Years
According to SportsMediaWatch (SMW), NBC Sports' Eagles vs. Falcons matchup did not resonate with many NFL fans. The game averaged a 10.3 rating and 17.64 million viewers on NBC's Sunday Night Football over the weekend, marking the lowest-rated and least-watched Week 2 edition of SNF since 2007 (Chargers-Patriots: 9.8, 15.32M). The previous lows were a 10.8 and 17.84 million for Steelers-Browns in 2008.
Atlanta's narrow win declined 12% in ratings and 15% in viewership from Giants-Cowboys last year (11.7, 20.66M) and 9% and 13% respectively from Packers-Falcons in 2017 (11.3, 20.24M).
Of the Falcons' last fourteen primetime games (dating back to 2014), 11 have declined in ratings and 12 have declined in viewership. The exceptions are their Thanksgiving night loss to the Saints last season, a Super Bowl 51 rematch against New England in 2017, and the 2014 Monday Night Football opener against the Eagles.
Philadelphia led all markets for Sunday's game with a 32.6 rating and a 51 share (meaning 51% of TVs in use were tuned to the game). Atlanta ranked a distant second with a 22.3/40. New Orleans was the top neutral market (19.6/28), with Milwaukee (15.4/26) and Albuquerque, N.M. (15.3/26) rounding out the top five
The first Thursday Night Football game didn't fare much better. Buccaneers-Panthers averaged a 4.1 rating and 6.64 million viewers on NFL Network, marking the lowest-rated and least-watched TNF opener since 2011, when the series did not debut until Week 10 (Raiders-Chargers: 3.3, 5.28M) (SMW)
Tampa Bay's win declined a tick in ratings and 5% in viewership from Ravens-Bengals last year (4.2, 7.02M), and 16% and 18% respectively from Texans-Bengals in 2017 (4.9, 8.08M)
On Fox, America's Game of the Week featuring a Los Angeles Rams win over the New Orleans Saints delivered 23,336,000 viewers, which was Sunday's most-watched telecast for the second consecutive week and up 11% over last year's comparable window (21,029,000 viewers). So far, the NFL on Fox is averaging 19,081,000 viewers to make this start the best since 2016. Compared to last year, the numbers are up 7 (17,865,000 viewers)
Monday Night Football on ESPN - a 23-3 Cleveland Browns win over the New York Jets - averaged 11.9 million viewers across ESPN and ESPN Deportes, according to Nielsen.
The telecast helped ESPN win the night among all networks, broadcast or cable, in households, viewers and all key male and adult demos (12-17, 18-34, 18-49, 25-54, 55 ). MNF was also the highest-rated telecast of the night across all broadcast and cable networks among the same demos (except 55 ). ESPN Deportes also added 111,000 viewers. Through three games, MNF's average audience of 12,164,000 viewers is up 14% season-to-date (10,700,000 in 2018).
In Cleveland, the game delivered a 13.2 rating on ESPN and a 27.2 rating on WKYC-NBC, for a combined 40.4 rating. As for New York, it delivered a 6.9 rating on ESPN and a 3.6 on WPIX-CW, for a combined 10.5 rating. Nationally, the top 10 metered markets included Columbus (18.5), New Orleans (16.1), Dayton, Ohio (15.3), Buffalo (13.3), West Palm Beach (13.3), Pittsburgh (12.4), Jacksonville (11.2), Oklahoma City (11.1), Cincinnati (10.9), and San Diego (10.9)
CBS Sports' second singleheader week of the 2019 NFL season was up 27% in viewership averaging 15.244 million viewers versus its comparable second singleheader week last year (11.984 million).
The NFL on CBS also earned a ratings increase of 27% with an 8.9/22 average national household rating/share compared to a 7.0/17 last year in Week 3 (9/23/18), which was the Network's comparable second singleheader week.
Sunday's viewership and rating is The NFL on CBS' most-watched and highest-rated second singleheader week of the season since 2016 (16.446 million viewers; 9.4/21 rating/share; on 10/2/16).
The two singleheaders-to-date on CBS in 2019 are averaging 15.311 million viewers (P2 ), up 4% versus last year's 14.683 million; and are up 6% with an 8.9/22 average HH rating/share versus last year's 8.4/20. This year is the best performance for the first two singleheaders of the season on CBS since 2016 (16.243 million; 9.3/21).
ESPN Runs the Table in Latest Slate of College Football
ABC and ESPN continued its big start to the college football season in week 3, as this week ABC aired the most-watched game in the noon window and the two networks combined to air the two most-watched primetime games. Amongst all games and timeslots, the two networks aired three of the four most-watched games and ESPN set a multi-year viewership high for a Friday night game. The success included College GameDay Built by The Home Depot, as the 11-time Emmy winning show continues to grow its viewership year-over-year, both on a weekly and seasonal basis.
Pittsburgh at Penn State on ABC was the most-watched noon game window of the week across all networks and second most-watched game of the season in the timeslot. The ESPN CFB150 Showcase Game averaged 3,196,000 viewers, including a peak audience of 4.2 million viewers (3:45-3:56 p.m.). The 100th meeting between the schools resonated in the state, as Pittsburgh was the top market with 13.4 local rating followed by Ph
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
20/08/2026
IPC Expands Brazilian Presence with New Channel Partner CCATech
Industry veterans Carlos Abrah o and Bruno Lopes strengthen local support and expand IPCs prese...
20/08/2026
Zixi Enters Mauritius Market Through Strategic Deployment with MTC Jockey Club
Worlds Oldest Horse Racing Club in the Southern Hemisphere Selects Zixis Softwar...
20/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research assistant professor Tiantian Liu has received a five-year NIAID DP2 award from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Di...
20/08/2026
Audiences reveal appetite for multicultural Australia on-screen 20 August 2026
Dr Georgie McClean, Dr Rebecca Huntley (L-R)
By Dr Georgie McClean and Dr Rebec...
20/08/2026
How Mavis Studio Is Expanding Live Production Teaching at Sussex
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Hero image displays a student about to mix be...
20/08/2026
Vertical Unscripted Series Legal Queens Captured with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton August 19, 2026
0 Comments
Reality TV veteran Eric Gardner create...
19/08/2026
As the cost of IP nears price parity with traditional SDI, Reynolds argues that ...
19/08/2026
A private 5G bubble was chosen instead of traditional broadcast RF for the race ...
19/08/2026
(L-R) Rafael Manuel and Isabel Sicat attend the Filipi ana premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 23, 2026, in Park Cit...
19/08/2026
Studio owners invited to have their say on rates cuts
The Music Producers Guild (MPG) are inviting UK-based studios to take part in an in-depth survey that ...
19/08/2026
Vintage-inspired desktop interface revealed
Harrison's latest hardware offering sees them head into the world of audio interfaces, delivering a 10-in/12...
19/08/2026
Granular effect remains locked to scale and tempo
Described as your dream granular effect , Minimal Audio's latest creation is capable of turning any s...
19/08/2026
First polyphonic SWAM instrument incoming
Audio Modeling's latest physical-modelling orchestral instrument is just around the corner, and is now availab...
19/08/2026
World Cup Games Generate 84 Billion Minutes Across FOX, Fox Sports 1 and NBCU...
19/08/2026
July brought typical peak-holiday drops in viewership, driven primarily by viewers stepping away from screens and a visible decline in reach across both traditi...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Henry joins BCE as the company accelerates its commercial strategy and expands its international presence across the media, broadcast and technology markets. He...
19/08/2026
iWedia, a leading provider of software solutions for connected TV devices, today announced a major milestone in Android platform optimization with the successfu...
19/08/2026
NTP Technology announces that ST 2110-30 audio-over-IP connectivity with AES67 and RAVENNA capabilities is now available for the brand's world-class audio i...
19/08/2026
Net Insight has been selected to provide its Nimbra platform by the service provider Big Blue Marble, formerly ORS Group, as the core media transport solution f...
19/08/2026
LiveU has supported Coventry City FC and several other top-flight UK football clubs through one of their most demanding live production challenges of the year, ...
19/08/2026
Nature Seekers Documentary Shot with Blackmagic URSA Cine 12K LF
Brie Clayton August 18, 2026
0 Comments
Filming endangered turtles required camera...
19/08/2026
Neyrinck Brings D-Control Consoles Back to Life on Apple Silicon with D-Control ...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
19/08/2026
Riedel Communications today announced that Edith Cowan University (ECU) in Perth, Australia, implemented a comprehensive communications infrastructure that brin...
19/08/2026
QuickLink, a leading provider of award-winning video production and remote guest contribution solutions, will spotlight a major leap forward in remote guest con...
19/08/2026
Integrated platform melds media asset management, playout automation and newsroom workflows
EMAM, PlayBox Neo and SNEWS have officially launched Nuvex, a conne...
19/08/2026
Screen Australia releases the Private Investment Toolkit to strengthen screen in...
19/08/2026
Do Aussies truly value local content? Unpacking Screen Currency 2026 with Deirdr...
19/08/2026
There's an early Christmas gift for Bookish fans, as UKTV confirms the re-commission of the hit U&alibi drama, created by and starring Mark Gatiss. Viewers ...
19/08/2026
Wednesday 19 August 2026
Sky gives sports fans the chance to watch multiple liv...
19/08/2026
On Saturday September 5 Katie Taylor will step into the ring for the fight of her life against Flora Pili in front of 80,000 fans in Croke Park. A legendary fig...
18/08/2026
SportStream 2026, a free three-day virtual event, will take place September 15-17. One registration provides access to all three days of live programming and on...
18/08/2026
BeckTV will introduce BeckFlow to the European market at IBC2026, demonstrated on the Providius stand (10.F53).
BeckFlow is a web-based schematic documentation...
18/08/2026
Boland Communications will introduce a SMPTE ST 2110 input option for its 4K monitors at IBC2026, along with a new 55-inch super-narrow bezel display for video ...
18/08/2026
Dolby Laboratories and the Seattle Seahawks have announced a partnership integrating Dolby OptiView into the Seahawks' live streaming coverage, making the S...
18/08/2026
For BMG Executive Producer of Sports Production, Graham Taylor, producing live s...
18/08/2026
TMRW Sports has appointed Rufus Hack as President of Golf, a newly created role in which he will lead the company's golf businesses including TGL presented ...
Ratings Roundup: Sunday Night Football Hits Lowest Ratings Valley in Week 2 Since 2007 By Kristian Hernandez, Associate Editor 
