TVSquad

Here are the weekly cable ratings, by number of viewers.

It's funny, when I was typing this out, I had a strong sense of deja vu. I had to keep on checking to see if this was the ratings from a month ago or the ratings for this week, but it is indeed correct. Monday Night RAW and SpongeBob often make the list, but shows like SportsCenter, The Santa Clause 2, I Love New York 2, and Tila Tequila threw me for a loop for a second there.

1. Monday Night Football (ESPN)

The move by the NFL to exclusively air this weekend's game between the New England Patriots and New York Giants on their own NFL network, which reaches only 40% of US households, was met with much criticism and frustration. With a win this weekend, the Patriots would become the first team to go undefeated in a 16-game season (the Dolphins did it in the 14-game '72 season).

Now it looks like pressure from Washington has changed their mind and suddenly the game is airing on NFL Network and both NBC and CBS. Of course, several local affiliates to the two teams had already negotiated exclusive rights to the game and sold ads at inflated rates, so they can't be too happy about having to share the game now with CBS and NBC.