NBC may have scored in airing football game

NBC may have scrambled for a first down on Sunday.

Pro football returned to the network’s prime time last weekend after an eight-year absence. While the results were hardly conclusive, the struggling fourth-ranked broadcaster may have gained a few yards in its bid to remake the Sunday schedule into a destination for NFL junkies. An average of 9.5 million total viewers tuned in to the preseason Hall of Fame game between the Oakland Raiders and the Philadelphia Eagles, according to preliminary data from Nielsen Media Research. The final numbers, which won’t be available until today, must be adjusted for time-zone differences because the games are broadcast live (the telecast started at 8 p.m. on the East Coast but at 5 p.m. in L.A., which is two hours before the start of prime time and therefore outside Nielsen’s usual measurement system).

If those figures hold up, NBC will win the night in both total viewers and in the key ages 18-to-49 demographic, albeit against competition that consisted almost entirely of repeats. Perhaps more important, NBC’s performance would be in line with what ABC did last year for a preseason match of “Monday Night Football.” You don’t have to be John Madden to understand that NFL telecasts are undergoing a massive shift this year, one that could upend prime-time viewing habits for some time.

Walt Disney Co.-owned ABC sent the 36-year-old “MNF” franchise to sister cable network ESPN, while NBC reversed a long-held policy against high-priced pro sports contracts and prayed that Sunday football would bolster the rest of its fading lineup. NBC even traded the rights it held to a cartoon rabbit named Oswald to obtain the services of Al Michaels for the “MNF” on-air teaming with Madden.

Is NBC in the position of squaring off against a basic-cable network for ratings bragging rights this fall? It’s too early to tell whether the high-stakes bets will pay off for either network. NBC’s first regular-season Sunday game won’t be until Sept. 10 (Indianapolis Colts against the New York Giants). ESPN will weigh in the following night with a double-header (Minnesota Vikings versus Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers against the Raiders).

Channel Island is a blog about the television industry. For the latest posting, go to latimes.com/channelisland. Contact reporter Scott Collins at channelisland@latimes.com.