NFL Ratings Continue to Shine

In the next to last week of the NFL 2009-10 regular season, the league continues to show strength. CBS' late games were among the highest rated shows of the week which means the 4:15 p.m. slot is the best time for NFL games. Here's the press release from the National Football League.

NFL GAMES TOP TWO SHOWS OF THE WEEK

CBS National Game Featuring Broncos-Eagles & Jets-Colts Week’s Most-Watched Show

ESPN & NFL Network Post Record Viewership in 2009

NFL Tops Ratings in All 30 Local Markets

NFL games accounted for the two most-watched television shows last week (Dec. 21 - 27).

The CBS doubleheader game (mostly Denver-Philadelphia and New York Jets-Indianapolis) was the most-watched show on TV last week with 28.3 million viewers. NBC’s Sunday night game (Dallas-Washington) ranked second with 19.0 million viewers. 

ESPN’s Monday Night Football was the most-watched series on cable television in 2009, setting the cable viewership record for the fourth consecutive year with 14.4 million viewers.

NFL Network wrapped up its fourth season of Thursday Night Football with a record 5.5 million cable viewers tuning in on average – up 49 percent from last year.

NFL games topped the local ratings in all 30 NFL markets last week.

Following are the NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Dec. 21-27:

Week of 12/21-27			HH	HH	RTG
Market	Game	Date	RTG	SHR	Rank
New Orleans	Buccaneers at Saints	12/27/09	48.9	75	1
Pittsburgh	Ravens at Steelers	12/27/09	43.0	73	1
Indianapolis	Jets at Colts	12/27/09	39.2	61	1
Cincinnati	Chiefs at Bengals	12/27/09	35.3	64	1
Milwaukee	Seahawks at Packers	12/27/09	34.8	64	1
Dallas	Cowboys at Redskins	12/27/09	34.4	55	1
Baltimore	Ravens at Steelers	12/27/09	32.2	61	1
Philadelphia	Broncos at Eagles	12/27/09	32.1	53	1
San Diego**	Chargers at Titans	12/25/09	31.7	64	1
Denver	Broncos at Eagles	12/27/09	30.4	58	1
Buffalo	Bills at Falcons	12/27/09	28.9	51	1
Nashville**	Chargers at Titans	12/25/09	28.8	47	1
Kansas City	Chiefs at Bengals	12/27/09	28.1	54	1
Cleveland	Raiders at Browns	12/27/09	27.6	55	1
Boston	Jaguars at Patriots	12/27/09	27.4	57	1
Washington, DC	Cowboys at Redskins	12/27/09	24.2	41	1
Phoenix	Rams at Cardinals	12/27/09	21.7	44	1
Charlotte	Panthers at Giants	12/27/09	19.0	36	1
Tampa	Buccaneers at Saints	12/27/09	18.8	37	1
Miami	Texans at Dolphins	12/27/09	18.2	42	1
Houston	Texans at Dolphins	12/27/09	17.8	39	1
Jacksonville	Jaguars at Patriots	12/27/09	17.5	32	1
Atlanta	Bills at Falcons	12/27/09	17.2	36	1
New York	Jets at Colts	12/27/09	15.8	30	1
Detroit	Lions at 49ers	12/27/09	15.6	30	1
Chicago	Jets at Colts	12/27/09	15.1	29	1
Minneapolis	Broncos at Eagles	12/27/09	15.1	32	1
St. Louis	Rams at Cardinals	12/27/09	14.6	26	1
San Fran-Oakland	Lions at 49ers	12/27/09	13.3	38	1
Seattle	Seahawks at Packers	12/27/09	12.6	33	1

* Local affiliate & ESPN combined

** Local affiliate & NFL Network combined         

Source: NFL & Nielsen Media Research

This season went by very quickly.