NBC “SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL” POSTS ITS MOST-DOMINANT SEASON EVER & FINISHES 2017 ON PACE TO BE TV’S #1 PRIMETIME SHOW FOR RECORD 7TH CONSECUTIVE YEAR

Most Dominant Season Ever for NBC SNF in Average Viewership & HH Rating vs. Competition

A Decade of Demo Dominance: SNF Wins among Adults 18-49 for 10^th Consecutive Fall Season; Tops #2 Show by Largest Margin since 2012

NBC’s Football Night in America is Sports’ #1 Weekly Studio Show for 12^th Consecutive Year

NBC Sports Digital’s SNF Streaming Tops All Prior Full Seasons of NFL Games on NBC

STAMFORD, Conn. – Dec. 28, 2017 – NBC recently concluded its 12^th season of Sunday Night Football with its most-dominant performance ever in average viewership and household rating vs. its competition, while pacing to finish as primetime’s #1 TV show in all key metrics for a record seventh consecutive year – which will break its tie with American Idol for the most consecutive years atop the charts (since 1950), based on live plus same day data provided by The Nielsen Company.

Most Consecutive Years, #1 Ranked Show in Primetime, Since 1950

7 years in a row – Sunday Night Football (2011-12 through 2017-18; on pace)

6 years in a row – American Idol (2005-06 through 2010-11)

5 years in a row – The Cosby Show (1985-86 through 1989-90)…tied Cheers in ‘89-90

5 years in a row – All in the Family (1971-72 through 1975-76)

4 years in a row – Gunsmoke (1957-58 through 1960-61)

NBC Sunday Night Football’s 2017 season was its most dominant ever in average viewership (+29%) and household rating (+20%) as compared to primetime’s #2 show, and the most dominant since 2012 in the advertiser-coveted Adult 18-49 demo (+36%).

• SNF POSTS GREATEST VIEWERSHIP ADVANTAGE OVER PRIMETIME’S #2 SHOW IN SERIES HISTORY

NBC Sunday Night Football averaged 18.2 million TV viewers in 2017, which topped the #2 primetime show by 29% -- marking the most dominant season in NBC SNF history (since 2006 debut). SNF also beat the top scripted series (Big Bang Theory) by 30% in the fall (chart below).

Top Fall 2017 Primetime Programs, Viewership

(Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day Viewing, Sept.7, 2017-Dec. 25, 2017; regularly-scheduled programs; excludes pre- and post-shows)

*5 CBS/NFLN telecasts; **6 NBC/NFLN telecasts

• SNF HAS ITS LARGEST-EVER HOUSEHOLD RATING ADVANTAGE

SNF averaged a 10.3/19 household rating in posting the series’ largest-ever advantage (20%) over primetime’s #2 show. SNF also easily topped the highest-rated scripted series (Big Bang Theory), with a 23% margin (chart below).

Top Fall 2017 Primetime Programs, U.S. HH Rating

(Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day Viewing, Sept. 7, 2017-Dec. 25, 2017; regularly-scheduled programs; excludes pre- and post-shows)

*5 CBS/NFLN telecasts; **6 NBC/NFLN telecasts

• A DECADE OF DEMO DOMINANCE -- SNF WINS ADULT 18-49 DEMO FOR 10^TH CONSECUTIVE FALL SEASON, WITH LARGEST MARGIN SINCE 2012

SNF averaged a 6.1 rating in the Adult 18-49 demographic, ranking as primetime television’s #1 show in the advertiser-coveted demo for the 10th consecutive fall TV season. The 6.1 in the demo is 61% above The Walking Dead, primetime’s highest-rated scripted series among Adults 18-49 (chart below). Last fall, SNF led The Walking Dead by 21% in the demo.

SNF’s 36% advantage over the #2 primetime show in the demo is its greatest margin in five years – since the 2012 season.

Top Fall 2017 Primetime Programs, Adult 18-49 Rating

(Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day Viewing, Sept. 7, 2017-Dec. 25, 2017; regularly-scheduled programs; excludes pre- and post-shows)

*5 CBS/NFLN telecasts; **6 NBC/NFLN telecasts

Additional highlights from the 2017 NBC Sunday Night Football season:

• The Total Audience Delivery (TAD) for the 2017 Sunday Night Football season on NBC and NBC Sports Digital was 4 million viewers. For SNF, NBC Sports Group’s Total Audience Delivery measures broader consumption by calculating average minute viewing across broadcast and digital.

• Four NBC Sunday Night Football games this season topped 20 million viewers – doubling the combined total of all other primetime TV shows this fall (Games 6 and 7 of the World Series).

• NBC’s season-long Sunday night Football Night in America averaged 7.4 million viewers from 7:30-8:22 p.m. ET to continue its reign as sports’ most-watched weekly studio show for the 12th consecutive year – a streak which began in FNIA’s 2006 debut season. In addition, the 8-8:30 p.m. ET portion of Football Night in America (including pre-kick coverage), averaged 10.4 million viewers, and a 3.3 rating among Adults 18-49, which would rank No. 6 among regularly-scheduled primetime shows in the demographic.

• In each of its 12 seasons (2006-17), Sunday Night Football has averaged at least a 10.0 U.S. household rating (10.3 this season) and a 5.0 rating in the key Adult 18-49 demographic (6.1 this season). Among other primetime shows, only American Idol and Grey’s Anatomy have posted a 10.0 HH rating and a 5.0 demo rating more than twice in that 12-year stretch, and neither has done so since 2011. (Nielsen Live + Same Day Data, 9/7/17-12/25/17; Excludes Pre- and Post-Game Shows)

• From Nov. 5 through Dec. 25, NBC Sports presented 15 national TV games in 51 days – an unprecedented stretch for any network. The run, which included games in NBC’s SNF and TNF packages, began with the Nov. 5 Oakland Raiders-Miami Dolphins matchup on Sunday Night Football and concluded with the Pittsburgh Steelers-Houston Texans Christmas Day special, which was part of the TNF

NBC SNF GAMES PRODUCE 8 OF 10 MOST-WATCHED PRIMETIME SHOWS THIS FALL

NBC Sunday Night Football accounted for eight of the 10 most-watched primetime telecasts between Sept. 7, 2017 and Dec. 25, 2017 (up from seven of the top 10 last year). In addition, SNF accounted for four of the six primetime telecasts in that span to average at least 20 million viewers (charts below).

Following are the programs topping 20 million primetime viewers this fall:

Most-Watched Primetime Shows This Fall (Sept. 7, 2017-Dec. 25, 2017)

Source: Nielsen Live + Same Day Data, 9/7/17-12/25/17; Excludes Pre- and Post-Shows

SNF AVERAGE (P2+) VIEWERSHIP RANK AMONG PRIMETIME SHOWS:

Fall TV Season Full TV Season

Source: The Nielsen Company, Live + Same Day Viewing

SNF SETS STREAMING RECORD: NBC Sports Digital set season SNF records as 6.9 million unique users (up 12% from 6.1 million in ’16) consumed 689 million live streaming minutes (up 13% from 612 million) across NBCSports.com, the NBC Sports app, and NFL Mobile from Verizon. The 689 million minutes total to date exceeds all prior full seasons of NFL games on NBC, which included playoff games and two Super Bowls. This year’s total is more impressive considering that there is no Week 17 SNF game this season.

SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL TOP 30 METERED MARKETS – FULL 2017 SEASON:

For the first time since 2012, Milwaukee was the highest rated SNF market. Denver was the top-rated SNF market for the prior three seasons (2014-16). New Orleans was the highest-rated market in 2013 as well as in the 2010 and 2011 seasons.

NBC will televise an NFL Wild Card Playoff game on the weekend of January 6-7, 2018, followed by an NFL Divisional Playoff game on the weekend of January 13-14, before presenting its 19^th Super Bowl – Super Bowl LII on Sunday, February 4, 2018.
--SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL--