September 29, 2000
NFL TOPS LOCAL RATINGS IN MOST NFL MARKETS;
NATIONAL RATINGS UP VS. 1998 LABOR DAY SEASON
Is it the close games? More than half of the league’s games (31 of 58) have been decided by eight points or less.
Is it the high-scoring St. Louis Rams, the Colts’ explosive "Indianapolis 500 Offense," the surprise 4-0 New York Jets, or the dominating defensive play in Baltimore, Buffalo, Miami and Tampa Bay?
Whatever the reason, football fans across the country are tuning their televisions at impressive rates to NFL games. NFL games were the top-rated program in 18 NFL cities for the television week of September 18-24 – including two cities with no NFL teams playing (Buffalo had a bye; expansion Houston takes the field in 2002). NFL games ranked first in spite of tough Olympic prime-time competition and the normally lower overall viewing on Sunday afternoons as compared to prime time.
In addition, national ratings on Sundays have improved compared to 1998 when the NFL last kicked off on Labor Day Weekend. ESPN is up eleven percent, FOX is ahead nine percent, and CBS has improved by one percent versus 1998 ratings. (The ratings for the 1999 season, which kicked off the weekend after Labor Day, continued to have slightly higher ratings than 2000.)
Following are the 18 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of September 18-24 (other NFL markets where NFL football was ranked #2 or #3 are not listed):
| BOSTON | MIAMI |
| #1 New England @ Miami 20.0 rating /41 share | #1 New England @ Miami 20.9 rating/ 41 share |
| #2 Olympic Primetime 16.6/29 | #2 60 Minutes 13.9/24 |
| #3 NY Jets @ Tampa Bay 12.4/23 | #3 NY Jets @ Tampa Bay 13.8/26 |
| BUFFALO | MILWAUKEE |
| #1 NY Jets @ Tampa Bay 16.0/29 | #1 Green Bay @ Arizona 38.3 rating / 66 share |
| #2 60 Minutes 15.9/25 | #2 TAXI 19.7/42 |
| #3 Millionaire Tue 15.3/23 | #3 Futurama 19.0/32 |
| CHICAGO | NASHVILLE |
| #1 Detroit @ Chicago 18.2 rating/ 39 share | #1 Tennessee @ Pittsburgh 24.0 rating /42 share |
| #2 Olympic Primetime 15.8/26 | #2 NY Jets @ Tampa Bay 17.1/27 |
| #3 Fox postgame 15.7/31 | #3 Olympic Primetime 15.9/25 |
| CLEVELAND | NEW ORLEANS |
| #1 Cleveland @ Oakland 25.9 rating/ 44 share | #1 Philadelphia @ New Orleans 27.5 rating / 48 share |
| #2 60 Minutes 16.1/26 | #2 Eyewitness news 6 - 18.3/29 share |
| #3 Olympic Primetime 15.7/26 | #3 MNF- Dallas @ Washington 16.9 rating /24 share |
| DALLAS | PHILADELPHIA |
| #1 MNF- Dallas @ Washington 36.6/50 | #1 Philadelphia @ New Orleans 21.5 rating/ 41 share |
| #2 San Francisco @ Dallas 28.7/51 | #2 Olympic Primetime 17.5/28 |
| #3 Fox postgame show 22.3/39 | #3 Millionaire Tues 17.1/24 |
| DENVER | PITTSBURGH |
| #1 Kansas City @ Denver 37.7 rating/ 65 share | #1 Tennessee @ Pittsburgh 30.7 rating /54 share |
| #2 Olympic Primetime 19.8/33 | #2 Cleveland @ Oakland 15.3/25 |
| #3 MNF Dallas @ Washington 17.3/26 | #3 Olympic Primetime 15.2/25 |
| DETROIT | ST. LOUIS |
| #1 Detroit @ Chicago 23.6 rating/ 43 share | #1 St. Louis @ Atlanta 29.5 rating/ 54 share |
| #2 Fox postgame show 21.8/38 | #2 Fox postgame show 25.8/45 |
| #3 ABC College football 14.4/29 | #3 Olympic Primetime 19.5/32 |
| HOUSTON | TAMPA |
| #1 MNF- Dallas @ Washington 17.7/27 | #1 NY Jets @ Tampa Bay 32.5 rating/ 51 share |
| #2 Olympic Primetime 15.0/23 | #2 60 Minutes 29.5/44 |
| #3 60 Minutes 14.7/24 | #3 Olympic Primetime 15.7/27 |
| KANSAS CITY | WASHINGTON, D.C. |
| #1 Kansas City @ Denver 35.8 rating/ 56 share | #1 MNF- Dallas @ Washington 33.3 rating/ 56 share |
| #2 60 Minutes 27.0/42 | #2 SNF- Washington @ NY Giants 26.1 rating / 37 share |
| #3 MNF- Dallas @ Washington 17.5/28 | #3 Olympic Primetime 15.2/26 |
(MNF represents Monday Night Football; SNF represents Sunday Night Football)