Football Dominates TV Viewing As Christmas Nears
Dec 21, 2018, 7:28 AM | Updated: Feb 14, 2023, 12:24 pm
Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images
Add in three pre-game shows, and football accounted for seven of Nielsen’s entries.
The games usually dwarf regular programming. For example, Fox drew 17.4 million to its Thursday night game. Its next most popular show, “Last Man Standing,” had 12 million fewer viewers.
Similarly, the 18.1 million people who watched NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” were nearly 10 million more than “The Voice.” CBS’ lineup has a broader base of support and no pro football in prime-time, but it should be noted that its highest-rated show, “60 Minutes,” comes on after football on the East Coast.
For the week of Dec. 10-16, the top 10 shows, their networks and viewerships: NFL Football: Philadelphia at L.A. Rams, NBC, 18.12 million; NFL Football: L.A. Chargers at Kansas City, Fox, 17.41 million; “60 Minutes,” CBS, 14.55 million; “NCIS,” CBS, 12.28 million; “NFL Pregame,” NBC, 11.66 million; NFL Football: Minnesota at Seattle, ESPN, 11.63 million; “NFL Pregame,” Fox, 10.34 million; “Football Night in America,” NBC, 9.22 million; “FBI,” CBS, 9.04 million; “The Voice” (Tuesday), NBC, 8.97 million.
NBC’s Sunday Night Football continues this weekend when the the Kansas City Chiefs take on the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field. The game starts at 6:30 p.m. on KSL TV. Stick around afterward for KSL NFL Edition at 9:30 p.m.
