Despite being big games, the NFL had a terrible weekend when it came to ratings. Numbers have been down all season, and the wild-card games were no exception. Even the Panthers vs. Falcons game, which was one of the best this weekend, suffered. It actually had the biggest decrease year over year. Sports Illustrated put together a breakdown:
Titans-Chiefs (14.7) was down 11 percent versus last year’s Raiders-Texans game.
Falcons-Rams (14.9) was down 10 percent versus last year’s Lions-Seahawks game.
Bills-Jaguars (17.2) was down 10 percent versus last year’s Dolphins-Steelers game.
Panthers-Saints (20.4) was down 21 percent versus last year’s Giants-Packers game.
Wild Card Weekend Overnights Roundup:
TEN-KC: 14.7 HH -11% YOY vs. 16.6 (OAK-HOU)
ATL-LAR: 14.9 HH -10% YOY vs. 16.5 (DET-SEA)
BUF-JAX: 17.2 HH -10% YOY vs. 19.2 (MIA-PIT)
CAR-NO: 20.4 HH -21% YOY vs. 25.9 (NYG-GB)— Anthony Crupi (@crupicrupicrupi) January 8, 2018
All told, Wild Card overnight ratings were down 14% vs 2017—not at all surprising given the absence of three of the NFL’s biggest TV draws (Dallas, Green Bay, Seattle), the rep from the No. 1 DMA (NY Giants) and Pittsburgh’s having earned a bye week.
— Anthony Crupi (@crupicrupicrupi) January 8, 2018
We will have to wait and see if the games this weekend help the viewership at all.
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