The quadrennial meeting of the Patriots and Cowboys was not quite as big a draw as their previous matchups.
The Week 5 NFL national window, featuring Patriots/Cowboys in 81% of markets, drew a 15.2 final rating and 26.1 million viewers on CBS Sunday afternoon — up 32% in ratings and 33% in viewership from coverage featuring Chiefs/49ers last year (11.5, 19.7M) but down 8% in both measures from coverage featuring Broncos/Cowboys in 2013 (16.6, 28.3M).
The Patriots’ win trailed the previous two meetings between the teams. The 2011 matchup drew a 17.1 and 28.4 million on FOX, and the 2007 game — which took place during New England’s undefeated season — drew an 18.0 and 29.1 million on CBS. The last time they played in front of a smaller audience was 2003, when a Sunday night matchup on ESPN had a 7.8 and 11.7 million.
With that said, the numbers were far from poor. Sunday’s telecast ranks as the fourth-highest rated and fifth-most watched NFL telecast of the season on any network. Four of the season’s top five games have included the Patriots and/or Cowboys, with the lone exception being Seahawks/Packers on NBC in Week 1 (15.1, 26.4M).
It was also the top telecast of the season on CBS.
Among adults 18-49, the national window drew an 8.4 rating — ranking seventh for the season among NFL telecasts. It was the day’s top program in the demo, topping the premiere of AMC’s The Walking Dead (7.4).
UPDATE 10/23: The early doubleheader window had 13.6 million viewers, down 7% from last year (14.7M) but up 21% from 2013 (11.2M). The rating was not immediately available.
(Sun. numbers via TV Media Insights)
