5-0 start boosts Falcons’ TV ratings

The Falcons’ TV ratings are keeping pace with the team’s record — both up sharply. The first 5-0 start in franchise history has stirred a 23-percent increase in viewership.

The Falcons have posted an average Nielsen rating in the Atlanta television market of 23.7 for their first five games, up from 19.2 for last year’s 10-6 season.

This season’s rating translates to an average Falcons audience of about 552,000 metro-Atlanta households, an increase of 105,000 from last season’s average of 447,000 homes.

Sunday’s victory over Washington drew a 25.4 rating in the Atlanta market, about 592,000 households.

Other major sports events on Atlanta TV last weekend lagged the Falcons’ viewership considerably.

The Georgia-South Carolina football game on Saturday night was the second biggest draw, posting a 16.8 local rating (391,000 homes). Friday’s Braves-Cardinals Wild Card playoff drew a 9.1 rating here (212,000 homes), and Saturday’s Georgia Tech-Clemson football game posted a 5.3 rating (123,000 homes).

Baseball’s first Wild Card playoffs drew a sharply lower rating in Atlanta than in the other three markets with participating teams. The Braves-Cardinals game posted a 20.4 rating in St. Louis. The Orioles-Rangers game posted a 20.1 rating in Baltimore and 14.3 in Dallas/Fort Worth.

The rating is the percentage of the market’s TV households tuned in on average. In Atlanta, one full rating point equals about 23,300 households.

The local rating for Sunday’s Falcons game was the second highest this season, trailing only the Sept. 17 game against Denver on “Monday Night Football,” which posted a 28.8 rating in Atlanta.

Atlanta ratings for the other Falcons games: 18.5 for the Sept. 9 opener against Kansas City, 21.1 for Sept. 23 against San Diego and 24.5 for Sept. 30 against Carolina.

– Tim Tucker