I don’t think we’ll be offending anyone if we say the 2011 Pro Bowl was a joke. In fact, the Pro Bowl in general is a joke. Logistically, an all-star game in a contact sport where injuries can occur doesn’t make a lot of sense. But the NFL does it every year anyway and, despite what we think of it, it’s a success when it comes to TV ratings.
2011 Pro Bowl TV Ratings Show Power Of The NFL
The game drew an overnight of 8.6 on FOX, which is the equivalent of 8.6 percent of TV households in 56 urban markets. That’s an eight percent growth from the 2010 Pro Bowl (which was on ESPN) and the highest overnight ratings in 11 years.
How good is that rating?
That 8.6% rating is better than ratings for some BCS bowl games, isn't far from a World Series rating and is far higher than the vast majority of all TV sports events outside of NFL action.
Milwaukee was the second highest rated market -- and the Packers didn't have any players in the game. Incredible. The league can put anything it wants on TV, brand it with the NFL name, and draw high ratings. At this point, we'd have an easier time pointing out the NFL events that didn't break TV records or see significant growth.
The Pro Bowl is the second to last game this NFL season with the 2011 Super Bowl less than a week away. With two traditionally strong franchises, Steelers and Packers, we may see another TV ratings record broken before it's all said and done.
See More:
