NBC's 'Sunday Night Football' Slate Down Slightly From 2011

Still fall's No. 1 primetime series; Cowboys-Redskins most-watched game

By Tim Baysinger -- Broadcasting & Cable, 1/3/2013 11:21:31 AM

 NBC's seventh season of its Sunday Night Football slate averaged 21.4 million total viewers across its 17 games, down just slightly from last year's 21.5 million.

While the overall viewership was down for the third straight season, it was still the third-highest since NBC began airing the package in 2006. This year, 11 of the 17 games drew an audience of at least 20.5 million, tied for the most in one season with 2010.

Last Sunday's (Dec. 30) finale between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins became the most-watched game in SNF history and was NBC's most-viewed NFL primetime regular season game ever, drawing 30.3 million total viewers. It was the most-watched NFL regular season primetime game on any network since November 1996. The game's 17.0 national rating was also highest ever for a primetime regular-season game, eclipsing the 16.5 for the season opener between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Denver Broncos (Peyton Manning's comeback).

For the third-straight year, SNF was the fall's top-ranked primetime show (Sept. 25- Dec. 30) with total viewers as well as the key adults 18-49 demo. Last year, SNF became the first sports series to be the No. 1 show for the entire TV season.

NBC airs its only postseason games on Jan. 5, with it's annual Wildcard Saturday doubleheader beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.