ITEM ONE:

FIRST NFL PRIMETIME PLAYOFF GAME FIRST IN RATINGS

It was the first NFL playoff game ever televised in primetime.  And was it welcomed!  Last Saturday night’s New York Jets at Oakland Raiders Wild Card matchup (won by the Raiders 38-24) on ABC-TV at 8:00 PM ET finished as the highest-rated program of the night, watched by 22.0 million viewers.  The game out-delivered all of its network rivals combined in the adults 18-49 demographic with a 9.3 rating/26 share versus a 7.6/22 for all other shows.  The game generated ABC’s largest Saturday night rating among adults 18-49 since October 21, 1995, and was the top primetime program for the week among men 18-49 and 25-54.   

ITEM TWO:

NFL LONE SPORT IN TOP-10 BRAND LOYALTY

With the September 11 attacks and the war in Afghanistan changing the mood of the country, Brand Keys, a product loyalty consultant, recently asked 16,000 Americans to rate the “survivability” of their favorite brands.  Consumers were asked 1) Is a brand/company robust enough to withstand the pressures of a wartime economy?; 2) Does a brand/company represent lasting and solidly American values?; and 3) Does the brand have your confidence?  Brand Keys reported that brands perceived by consumers as being from sturdy, familiar American companies scored the best.  “We weren’t talking to Wall Street analysts,” says ROBERT PASSIKOFF, president of Brand Keys.  “We were talking to people who use the products.”  The NFL finished as the lone sport in the top 10 of the brand-stability survey: Sprint, Wal-Mart, Sears, AOL, Budweiser, Coors Light, Diet Coke, NFL, J.C. Penney, and KeySpan Energy.     

ITEM THREE:

PLAYERS CAN BE FUNNY, AND “LIKED A LOT”

Sure VINNY TESTAVERDE had trouble with his magic tricks.  And SAM ADAMS crushed the dummy on which he was demonstrating life-saving techniques.  And STEVE MARIUCCI couldn’t keep up with senior citizens in “Trivial Pursuit.”  Those are only three of the humorous NFL/United Way public-service TV spots that for the second year have delighted U.S. viewers while exhibiting the multiple community-service activities of NFL players and coaches.  Recently, USA Today’s “Ad Track” polled viewers as to which TV commercials they “Liked A Lot.”  The NFL spots were the second-favorite (tie) among women, and fourth-favorite among men.  “Softer, cuter humor worked for the NFL/United Way ads,” concluded “Ad Track.”  And Mariucci did know one answer:  “N*SYNC.”