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Local Nielsen ratings snapshot (Fri.-Sun., Jan. 19-21) -- Patriots' comeback tops Eagles' rout

By ED BARK
@unclebarkycom on Twitter
The later game generally gets the bigger overall crowd on the NFL’s championship Sunday. But not when it’s a one-sided romp while the earlier matchup isn’t decided until the final minute.

CBS’ New England Patriots-Jacksonville Jaguars face-off, with Tom Brady orchestrating a 24-20 comeback win, averaged 1,025,582 D-FW viewers and 368,231 in the advertiser-coveted 18-to-49-year-old age range.

Then came the Philadelphia Eagles’ 38-7 demolition of the Minnesota Vikings on Fox. It averaged 954,361 total viewers, but a higher 393,196 within the 18-to-49 motherlode. Not at all surprisingly, the audience for New England-Jacksonville built down the stretch while falling off for Philadelphia-Minnesota.

Although both of last year’s championship games were blowouts, they performed significantly better in the D-FW ratings than Sunday’s latest ABC and NFC championship games.

Fox’s early game, the Atlanta Falcons’ 44-21 blowout of the Green Bay Packers, drew 1,141,563 total viewers. The CBS’ game, a 36-17 New England decimation of the Pittsburgh Steelers, then fell slightly to 1,119,749 viewers.

It again should be noted that no other competing program came close to the NFL at any hour of the day or night Sunday. But a year-long decline in both the D-FW and national ratings has to be setting off alarm bells at the league’s fortress-like corporate headquarters.

Fox premiered its new medical drama The Resident at 9:04 p.m. Sunday following the network’s post-game show. The Resident won its time slot with 299,128 total viewers and 127,945 in the 18-to-49 realm. But in both cases, the audience declined in each quarter hour measured by Nielsen Media Research.

Friday’s prime-time numbers again were paced by CBS’ Blue Bloods in total viewers (292,006) while Fox4’s competing 9 p.m. local newscast had the most 18-to-49ers (53,050).

Here are Friday’s four-way local news derby results.

TEGNA8 won in most total viewers at 10 p.m., but Fox4 was tops with 25-to-54-year-olds (main advertiser target audience for news programming).

Fox4 continued its long 6 a.m. winning streak with twin wins and also ran first at 5 and 6 p.m. in the 25-to-54 demographic. NBC5 drew the most total viewers at both 5 and 6 p.m.

Email comments or questions to: unclebarky@verizon.net