Ratings for the Patriots-Steelers rivalry tied an NFL season-high.
Sunday’s Patriots-Steelers NFL national window earned a 14.2 rating and 24.6 million viewers on CBS, down 7% in ratings and 9% in viewership from last year, which featured the same matchup (15.2, 26.9M), and down a tick and 2% respectively from 2016 (mostly Patriots-Broncos: 14.3, 25.0M).
Pittsburgh’s win tied the highest NFL rating of the season, matching the previous week’s national window (mostly Eagles-Cowboys). Three of the five highest rated games have featured New England.
It also scored the fourth-largest audience of the season, behind last week’s national window (25.1M) and both Thanksgiving afternoon games.
Despite the strong numbers, Patriots-Steelers was the lowest rated Week 15 national window since 2006 (13.5) and the least-watched since 2008 (24.4M). In adults 18-49, the game’s 6.5 rating (-13%) was the lowest in Week 15 since 2005 (6.3).
Earlier in the day, the first half of the CBS doubleheader pulled a 6.5 and 11.0 million — up 8% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (6.0, 9.9M), but down 26% and 27% respectively from 2016 (8.8, 15.0M).
Not counting two early morning games from London, the 6.5 is tied as the lowest of the season for a Sunday NFL game. Bear in mind CBS faced tough competition from FOX, which aired the highest rated singleheader window in three years.
The full list of Week 15 NFL ratings is available here.
[Numbers from Nielsen via ShowBuzz Daily 12.18]
