best ratings for opening game for a season. add that to the best ratings ever for a sporting event with the superbowl. if the nfl can continue to sell the comeback story of the saints and post katrina, and continue to have these kind of ratings...you are doing crack if you think the nfl will not pull strings again if this team gets to the playoffs again. ratings may even be better if there is a repeat.
Saints' win vs. Vikings draws best TV rating ever for NFL's opening night game
The NFL started the 2010 regular season in the same spot in the same spot it ended last season -- with TV viewership reaching record levels.
NBC's telecast of the New Orleans Saints' 14-9 win against the Minnesota Vikings drew a 17.7 overnight rating. That translates to 17.7% of viewers in 56 urban TV markets that are measured for overnight ratings.
The Vikings-Saints overnight is the highest for an NFL primetime regular-season game in 13 years and the top overnight rating ever for an opening night game ever.
The NFL has started its season on Thursday night since 2002.
The game drew a 28 share which translates into 28% of all TV households with televisions on at the time.
It continued a trend of boffo TV viewership for the NFL.
An average of more than 16 million viewers watched each regular-season game last season, the highest level since 1990. And the Saints' win in Super Bowl XLIV became the most-watched TV show of all time.
It's good news for the NFL, but also feeds the growing concern around the league about the contrast between the luxurious, tech-savvy home-viewing environment and the declining attendance at NFL stadiums.