NBC Announces Ratings for Sunday Night Football With 49ers-Seahawks Matchup Pulling In 20.5 Million Viewers
From the Press Release
Despite a 60-minute weather delay, the San Francisco 49ers-Seattle Seahawks matchup on Sunday Night Football drew an average of 20.5 million viewers on NBC – marking the most-watched primetime NFL matchup between West Coast teams in nearly two decades.
The 29-3 Seahawks victory on Sunday Night Football also topped by 1 million viewers (a 5% increase) the SNF matchup of the same two teams last year in Week 16, which the NFL flexed into primetime as San Francisco (then 10-3-1) and Seattle (9-5) played for playoff positioning and averaged 19.5 million viewers.
The 49ers-Seahawks game – which aired from 8:31-9:05 pm ET and 10:05-12:13 am ET due to a 60-minute lightning delay in Seattle – is the most-watched primetime NFL game between two West Coast teams since Nov. 27, 1995, when the defending-AFC champion San Diego Chargers hosted the rival Oakland Raiders and averaged 21.6 million viewers.
Additional Sunday Night Football ratings notes:
- Sunday Night Football (12.2/21 national household rating) led NBC to a decisive Sunday win in all key measures, taking the night among ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox by an 89 percent margin in adults 18-49 (6.6 vs. 3.5 for #2 CBS).
- Through three NFL telecasts, NBC is averaging 23.9 million viewers -- the fourth consecutive year with a 23+ million average at this point in the season.
- In competing team markets, Sunday’s game posted the best-ever NBC SNF rating in Seattle (44.8/66), and matched the best NBC SNF rating in San Francisco (26.8/48), which was previously set by 49ers-Patriots on Dec. 16, 2012.
TOP METERED MARKETS FOR 49ERS-SEAHAWKS:
1. Seattle 44.8/66
2. Sacramento 31.3/50
3. San Francisco 26.8/48
4. Portland 22.7/38
5. New Orleans 19.0/27
6. Las Vegas 18.9/29
7. San Diego 18.7/33
8. Phoenix 18.0/30
9. Denver 16.8/29
10. Richmond 16.4/26
DIGITAL: NBC Sports Live Extra’s live stream of Sunday Night Football between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks was the best SNF game ever in all key digital metrics across all platforms (excludes “NFL Kickoff” and post-season games).
The game generated 18,276,900 minutes, the most-ever for an SNF game and the second-best ever for a regular-season game on NBC Sports Digital, trailing only this year’s Kickoff contest between the Ravens and Broncos (20,484,617).
In comparison to 2012 SNF Week 2, traffic for 49ers-Seahawks was up +82% in uniques, +94% in visits, +91% in live starts, +143% in minutes watched, and +25% in minutes/visit.
The 53.9 minutes per visit was the best engagement ever for any SNF game (regular season or post-season) streamed by NBC Sports Digital.