NBC is savoring a welcome gift: a holiday week ratings victory powered by Sunday night football.
According to Nielsen figures released earlier this week, more than 30 million viewers tuned in to NBC on Dec. 30 to watch the Washington Redskins defeat the Dallas Cowboys.
The Redskins claimed their first division title in 13 years that night.
NBC said the NFL contest drew the biggest audience in 16 years for a regular-season prime-time game, second to a 1996 Packers-Cowboy contest.
For the final week of 2012, a rebounding NBC was No. 1 in total viewers and among the advertiser-favored young-adult demographic.