NFL viewership set many records this season

[thenepatsrule]

not sure if this has been posted before, i thought this would be a nice change from all the JETS trash talk threads,
i have stopped watching/listening to sports shows for a couple of days now,it seems any channel you watch/listen to has nothing but jets and pats to talk about,A TOURIST to this country may thing the superbowl is a few weeks early, nobody anywhere wants to talk about any other game...the more i listen/read about the JETS being classless the more restless i get for the game, i dont think i have ever waited for a game as much as this one (well maybe the 2007 SB)

17 NFL regular-season games were watched by 25 million viewers – nearly double the 2009 total (nine) and the most for a single regular season ever. NFL games were the only shows on TV to reach the 25 million mark in fall 2010.
For the first time ever, a sports series topped the primetime ratings in the fall as NBC Sunday Night Football averaged 21.4 million viewers.
FOX’s Sunday National telecast (4:15 PM ET) was the most-watched show among all programs with an average of 25.9 million viewers.
CBS’ Sunday National telecast (4:15 PM ET) was the second-most-watched program among all shows with an average of 25.0 million viewers.
ESPN’s Monday Night Football was the most-watched series on cable with an average of 14.7 million viewers. ESPN’s Saints-Falcons, the season finale of Monday Night Football on Dec. 27, averaged 19.1 million viewers to rank as the most-watched cable program of 2010.
NFL Network wrapped up its fifth season of Thursday Night Football with a record average of 5.7 million cable viewers.
The FOX Thanksgiving game (Saints-Cowboys) was the most-watched show of the fall broadcast season and most-watched Thanksgiving game in 12 years with 31.9 million viewers.
NBC’s Eagles-Cowboys game on Dec. 12 was the most-watched Sunday Night Football game ever (25.73 million viewers). Vikings-Packers on Oct. 24 (25.68 million viewers) and Cowboys-Redskins (25.3 million viewers) are the second and third most-watched Sunday Night Football games in history.
The 2010 NFL season is the most-watched and most-viewed regular season among Hispanic viewers, African-American viewers and Women. The 2010 NFL season is the most-watched season among Kids in more than a decade (since 1997).

Following are the 20 most-watched shows of the fall TV season:
Program (Game) Viewers
1. FOX Thanksgiving Day (Saints-Cowboys), 11/25 31.9 million
2. CBS Sunday National (mostly Patriots-Bears), 12/12 30.5 million
3. FOX Sunday National (mostly Packers-Eagles), 9/12 28.0 million
4. CBS Sunday National (mostly Colts-Eagles), 11/7 27.8 million
5. CBS Thanksgiving Day (Patriots-Lions), 11/25 27.8 million
6. NBC Thursday Kickoff (Vikings-Saints), 9/9 27.5 million
7. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Colts), 12/5 27.4 million
8. CBS Sunday National (mostly Raiders-Cowboys), 9/19 27.0 million
9. FOX Sunday National (mostly Eagles-Bears), 11/28 26.6 million
10. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Giants), 11/14 26.2 million
11. FOX Sunday National (mostly Bears-Packers), 1/2/11 26.1 million
12. FOX Sunday National (mostly Cowboys-Vikings), 10/17 26.0 million
13. NBC Sunday Night Football (Eagles-Cowboys), 12/12 25.7 million
14. CBS Sunday National (mostly Jets-Steelers), 12/19 25.7 million
15. NBC Sunday Night Football (Vikings-Packers), 10/24 25.7 million
16. NBC Sunday Night Football (Cowboys-Redskins), 9/12 25.3 million
17. CBS Sunday National (mostly Vikings-Patriots), 10/31 25.2 million
18. FOX Sunday National (mostly Giants-Packers), 12/26 24.3 million
19t. ABC Dancing with the Stars (season finale pt 2), 11/23 24.2 million
19t. NBC Sunday Night Football (Packers-Patriots), 12/19 24.2 million

Five years ago, none of the top 15 most-watched shows were NFL games

http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/2011/01/13/nfl-2010-tv-recap-most-viewed-season-ever/78564

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2010/11/nfl-with-175-million-tv-viewers-2010-is-most-watched-season-in-history/1

 

[JSn]

I wonder if there's an interesting philosophical or sociological reason for the shift, rather than just marketing. Be an interesting discussion, but maybe for a different part of the forum.

 

[BradyManny]

I wonder if there's an interesting philosophical or sociological reason for the shift, rather than just marketing. Be an interesting discussion, but maybe for a different part of the forum.

Interesting thought - though I would tend to think it ends up being much simpler: football provides the best quality of product of all the major sports right now. And by a wide margin.

Every once in a while - and its not often - the viewing public gets one right. Football is the most entertaining sport, and the NFL is the best sports business.

 

[terabthia2]

I wonder if there's an interesting philosophical or sociological reason for the shift, rather than just marketing. Be an interesting discussion, but maybe for a different part of the forum.

Hmmmm...could it maybe be that most regular TV shows suck nowadays?

 

[pheenix11]

Have you seen the crap on TV lately?

 

[JSn]

Have you seen the crap on TV lately?

Nope. I only watch movies and football. Maybe that's my answer, lol.

 

[Pujo]

TV shows suck, and no other major sport has all of the local team's games over-the-air. I'd probably watch more Celtics if I didn't have to pay $100 a month for the privilege (no need for cable otherwise). It's the perfect storm for football.

Though with how much the NFL charges the 3 networks to show their games, they better have this kind of viewership.