A weekly feature wherein we contextualize TV ratings for national sports broadcasts. Data via Nielsen, Sports Business Journal's John Ourand and @TVSportsRTGS. Viewership numbers represent approximate number of persons tuned to a given program; ratings share refers to the percentage of all households using a television who are turned into that program.
Monday, Nov. 26:
Monday Night Football: Philadelphia Eagles at Carolina Panthers (ESPN): 10.8 million viewers [Note: This was MNF's least watched broadcast of the season. Even both games of the Week 1 doubleheader had more viewers.]
Dancing with the Stars (ABC): 16.3 million viewers
Tuesday, Nov. 27:
NCAA basketball: UNC at Indiana (ESPN): 2.7 million viewers
NCAA basketball: Maryland at Northwestern (ESPN2): 237,000 viewers
NCIS (CBS): 19.8 million viewers
Wednesday, Nov. 28:
NCAA basketball: Ohio State at Duke (ESPN): 2.3 million viewers
Duck Dynasty (A&E): 4.9 million viewers
Thursday, Nov. 29:
NFL football: New Orleans Saints at Atlanta Falcons (NFL Network): 7.1 million viewers
Person of Interest (CBS): 14.4 million viewers
Friday, Nov. 30:
NCAA football: UCLA at Stanford [Pac-12 Championship Game] (FOX): 4.9 million viewers
Gold Rush (Discovery): 4.6 million viewers
Saturday, Dec. 1:
NCAA football: Oklahoma at TCU (ESPN): 3.3 million viewers
NCAA football: Texas at Kansas State (ABC): 5.2 million viewers
NCAA football: Wisconsin vs. Nebraska [Big Ten Championship Game; Indianapolis] (FOX): 5.1 million viewers
SEC Championship postgame show (CBS): 8.5 million viewers [Note: Data for network daytime programming isn't available till Thursday, but if 8.5 million people watched the postgame show, you can bet the number of viewers for the actual game was awfully high.]
MLS Cup: Houston Dynamo at LA Galaxy (ESPN): 797,000 viewers
MLS Cup: Houston Dynamo at LA Galaxy (Telefutura): 485,000
Winchester Legends (NBCSN): 146,000 viewers [Note: This 11 a.m. hunting show was NBCSN's most watched show on Saturday.]
Hallmark Original Movie: The Christmas Heart (Hallmark): 3.3 million viewers
Sunday, Dec. 2:
Sunday Night Football: Philadelphia Eagles at Dallas Cowboys (NBC): 20.4 million viewers [Note: This was SNF's fourth-lowest viewership figure of the season. The only times fewer people watched SNF were when it was going up directly against playoff baseball.]
Walking Dead (AMC): 10.5 million viewers