FOOTBALL IN HIGH HEELS: SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL RATINGS FOR 2015-2016
STAMFORD, Conn. – May 26, 2016 – With the 2015-16 TV season wrapping up last night, NBC’s Sunday Night Footballfinished as television’s No. 1 primetime show in household rating (13.0) and viewership (22.5 million average) for the fifth consecutive season, based on live plus same day data from The Nielsen Company (September-May). Sunday Night Football also ranked as the No. 1 show in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic for the sixth consecutive TV season.
Sunday Night Football is one of only four shows since 1950 to rank No. 1 in primetime for five consecutive TV seasons(chart below).
Most Consecutive Years, #1 Ranked Show in Primetime, Since 1950
6 years in a row – American Idol (2005-06 through 2010-11)
5 years in a row – Sunday Night Football (2011-12 through 2015-16)
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’s 10thseason of Sunday Night Football wrapped up on January 3, 2016, as the network’s most-watched and highest-rated SNF season ever. Viewership also marked a 19-year high for the NFL’s premier primetime package.
Also notable from the 2015-16 TV season:
- For the 2015-16 primetime television season, Sunday Night Football ranked as the highest-rated (13.0 HH rating) and most-watched show (22.5 million viewers), and the No. 1 program among Adults 18-49 (8.0).
- Since the beginning of the 2011-12 TV season, only seven primetime shows have averaged 21+ million viewers, all on NBC – Sunday Night Football five times, the 2012 London Olympics, and the 2014 Sochi Winter Games.
- SNF’s five-year run at the top marks the only five times on record that a sports series has been the highest-rated and most-watched show of the primetime TV season.
- Sunday Night Football games represented more than half of all primetime telecasts (13 of 23) which averaged at least 20 million viewers. During the NFL postseason (not included in SNF season average), NBC televised in primetime on January 16, 2016, the thrilling overtime Green Bay-Arizona NFC Divisional Playoff game, which averaged 33.7 million viewers.
Following is a look at primetime telecasts averaging at least 20 million viewers from Sept. 1, 2015 – May 24, 2016 (based on live plus same day data, excluding pre- and post-game shows):
| Program | # of Primetime TelecastsWith 20 Million Viewers |
| Sunday Night Football | 13 |
| NFL Postseason Games* | 4 (1 on NBC) |
| Academy Awards | 1 |
| Grammy Awards | 1 |
| BCS Championship Game | 1 |
| Thursday Night Football | 1 |
| Late Show (post-Super Bowl) | 1 |
| 60 Minutes (following AFC Divisional playoff) | 1 |
*Four NFL postseason games in primetime: Super Bowl 50 (CBS), NFC Championship Game (FOX), NFC Divisional Playoff (NBC), AFC Wild Card Playoff (CBS)
