NFL Network & NFL.com Draw Record Crowds for Opening Night Preseason Coverage - Ingles

Fans got “Back to Football” with the kickoff of 2011 NFL Week 1 preseason games last Thursday. NFL Network drew a record 737,000 average viewers for the primetime Around the League: Preseason 2011 special that featured live look-ins on preseason games -- a 767 percent increase over NFL Network’s programming on the same night a year ago. The special show marked NFL Network’s highest-ever primetime August viewership for a non-game telecast.

NFL Digital Media properties, including NFL.com, NFL Mobile Only from Verizon and other NFL mobile products, also drew the highest numbers ever for the first day of a NFL preseason, growing unique visitors by 86 percent over the same day in 2010. Fans also streamed 138 percent more NFL.com video than last year. In addition, more than twice as many fans have subscribed to NFL.com Preseason Live --which offers live preseason games with DVR functionality -- than did for the entire 2010 preseason.

The next Around The League: Preseason 2011 airs on NFL Network this Friday August 19 at 7:30 PM ET with live look-ins on five preseason games including Arizona and new quarterback KEVIN KOLB taking on Super Bowl MVP AARON RODGERS and the Packers, No. 1 draft pick CAM NEWTON and the Panthers visiting CHAD HENNE and the Dolphins, and a matchup of the QBs atop the preseason passer ratings as COLT MC COY and the Browns take on MATTHEW STAFFORD and the Lions.

Also last Thursday, NFLN’s tape-delayed telecast of Ravens-Eagles at 11:00 PM ET drew 756,000 viewers -- an 84 percent increase over last year’s game in the same time period (Saints-Patriots). The game was also the most-watched late night preseason re-air in the network’s history.

Saturday night’s live Packers-Browns telecast will rank among the three most-watched preseason telecasts in NFL Network history with more than one million viewers tuning in (final numbers will be available Tuesday AM).

NFL Network’s live preseason games continue on Saturday, August 20 at 8:00 PM ET when DREW BREES and the New Orleans Saints visit the Houston Texans followed by the Minnesota Vikings at Seattle Seahawks (joined live in-progress).

Posted by Necesitamos Mas Football on 10:08 a. m.. Filed under . You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0