It used to be that preseason games did not matter. It appears from the viewership of the last two Washington Redskins games that this is not the case anymore.
The Washington Redskins announced today that the team’s television ratings for the games against the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens reached an all-time high.
According to the announcement, the two games averaged a rating of 14.925 and a 30 share in the Washington, D.C. market. The Redskins broadcast of each game was carried locally on Comcast SportsNet and NBC4.
On Friday, August 13, the Redskins’ opened their preseason by hosting the Buffalo Bills at FedExField . The game drew a 14.75 rating and a 30 share. The game against the Ravens, also at FedExField on August 21, drew an even higher viewership. That game registered a 15.1 rating and a 30 share.
Each rating point represents a percent of the estimated television households in the Washington, D.C. area that are watching the game, while the share is the percentage of televisions in use that are tuned to the game, meaning that nearly one-third of the televisions in use in the metropolitan area were tuned into each of the two games.
“These numbers illustrate the passion and loyalty of our fans,” Redskins’ Chief Marketing Officer Mitch Gershman said, “and the excitement they have for the upcoming season.”
Washington’s last two preseason games are this Friday, August 27 at the New York Jets and Thursday, September 2 at the Arizona Cardinals.