TV Ratings Decline Considerably for Second Week of NFL Strike Games

Attendance at the second round of National Football League strike-replacement games was generally up, but television ratings were down.

NBC, for its single NFL telecast Sunday, averaged a 9.7 overnight Nielsen rating in the nation’s 15 largest markets. In the first week of the strike, NBC averaged an 11.7 for a single NFL telecast in the same markets.

CBS, which drew overnight ratings of 15.0 and 10.8 for an NFL doubleheader last week, drew ratings of 10.6 and 12.3 this Sunday. The 12.3 represents only 7 of the nation’s 15 markets, since some CBS stations were restricted to one NFL game. Meanwhile, the baseball playoffs on NBC did better than football. The afternoon St. Louis-San Francisco game Sunday drew a 14.3 in 14 markets (Seattle took football rather than baseball), and the night game between Minnesota and Detroit drew a 15.8 in 15 markets.

In Los Angeles, the Cardinals and Giants drew a 17.2, the Twins and Tigers an 18.3, and Miami-Kansas City football on NBC an 11.7. The Washington-New York Giants football game on CBS, televised opposite baseball on NBC, got only a 5.9.

NFL football last week drew L.A. ratings of 14.1 (Rams-New Orleans) and 10.1 (Miami-Seattle).