Arizona Cardinals set TV viewership records in 2014

The Arizona Cardinals set a record for wins in 2014, with their 11 victories being the most they’ve had since moving to the Valley in 1988.

They also set a new standard for TV viewership, as their 16 regular season games earned an average of a 27.5 rating and 49 share. They were watched in an average of 504,000 households.

The previous records were 22.6 (2009), 42 (2013) and 432,000 (2009).

In all, nine of Arizona’s 16 games were watched in over half-a-million households, with seven of the broadcasts generating a share of 50+.

Below are other broadcasting notes, provided by the team:

• The Cardinals final TV numbers increased 28% from 2013, the largest such jump in the NFL.

• In a listing of the most-watched programs of any kind in the Phoenix market from Labor Day to New Year’s, the 16 Cardinals game broadcasts occupy spots 1-16.

• The 12/21 home game vs. Seattle was the most-watched regular season game in team history with a 33.4 rating and audience of 612,000 households.

• Home games vs. Philadelphia on 10/26 and Detroit on 11/16 each had a 55 share; in Cards regular season history only the 12/27/98 finale vs. San Diego had a higher one (58).

• The regular season finale at San Francisco was seen in 531,000 Valley homes making it the team’s most-watched regular season road game ever.

• Dating back to 2013, the last 20 Cardinals games have drawn a local TV audience of over 400,000 households, extending the longest such streak in team history (previous was four, 2009-10).

• To put in context, the average Cardinals game drew a larger audience than Phoenix’s most-watched non-NFL program of 2014, the Academy Awards on 3/2 (27.0 rating, 49 share, 501k households).

• Those strong TV numbers are in addition to the 616,955 fans who attended games in person at University of Phoenix Stadium in 2014, allowing the team to extend its sellout streak to 93 (every game since the venue opened in 2006).

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