After lengthy delays due to the holidays, final numbers for the Week 16 NFL singleheader window on CBS are finally available.
CBS earned a 13.7 final rating and 24.4 million viewers for NFL action featuring Jets/Bears December 26, up 52% in ratings and 63% in viewership from Week 16 last year (CAR/NYG*: 9.0, 14.991 mil, FOX).
This marks the highest rated, most-viewed NFL singleheader of the season, topping the previous high set one week earlier (PHI/NYG*: 13.0, 21.881 mil, FOX).
The singleheader window was the most-viewed NFL telecast of Week 16, edging the national window on FOX (NYG/GB*: 24.3 mil). It was also the second-highest rated of the week, behind a Tuesday night game on NBC (MIN/PHI: 13.8).
Locally, the telecast was the highest rated program of the week (December 20-26) in 13 NFL markets: Kansas City (TEN/KC: 39.0), Indianapolis (IND/OAK: 36.1), Baltimore (BAL/CLE: 38.9), Boston (NE/BUF: 36.6), Buffalo (NE/BUF: 30.1), Cleveland (BAL/CLE: 26.8), San Diego (SD/CIN: 26.6), Nashville (TEN/KC: 24.8), New York (NYJ/CHI: 20.9), Cincinnati (NYJ/CHI: 16.6), Tampa (NYJ/CHI: 14.8), Denver (HOU/DEN: 14.4), and Houston (HOU/DEN: 14.2).
For the entire 2010-11 season, the NFL singleheader window topped 20 million viewers on five separate occasions, compared to zero such telecasts last season.
(Ratings and viewership from Austin Karp, Sports Business Daily)
