Cowboys Game Gives Tnt Explosive Ratings

More than 9 million homes, most in basic-cable history for a non-news program, watched TNT’s coverage of the Dallas Cowboys at Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, Turner Sports said.

The game averaged a 14.0 Nielsen cable ratings, which translates to 9,113,000 homes for TNT. It’s the highest-rated program in TNT history and the highest-rated basic-cable program of the year.

By comparison, Cal Ripken Jr.’s record-breaking game did a 7.0 Nielsen rating on ESPN.

Of non-news shows, two have had higher ratings on basic cable, both on ESPN. No. 1 is a 14.4 for the Bears-Vikings in 1987, and No. 2 is a 14.2 for Detroit-Miami in 1994.