The quadrennial meeting of the Cowboys and Patriots was a massive ratings draw in the metered markets.
Sunday’s Cowboys-Patriots NFL national window averaged a 19.5 overnight rating on FOX, tying the highest regular season NFL overnight since Patriots-Colts on CBS in 2007 (22.5). It matched a 2015 Seahawks-Cowboys game on FOX.
The 19.5 is also tied as the highest for a regular season NFL telecast on FOX since 1996, again matching the 2015 Seahawks-Cowboys game.
Overall, it ranks as television’s highest rated program in the metered markets since the Academy Awards on ABC in February (20.6) and the highest rated sporting event since the Super Bowl. No non-NFL sporting event has had a higher overnight since Game 7 of the Cubs-Indians World Series in 2016 (25.2).
Overnights increased 26% from last year (mostly Steelers-Broncos: 15.5) and 47% from 2017 (mostly Saints-Rams: 13.3), both of which aired on CBS.
Compared to previous Cowboys-Patriots games, overnights increased 20% from 2015 on CBS (16.2), 3% from 2011 on FOX (19.1), and 6% from 2007 on CBS (18.5).
Sunday’s numbers were especially impressive given the NFL’s lower ratings in the latter half of the 2010s. Prior to Sunday, no regular season window in the past three seasons had exceeded a 17.0 overnight.
Earlier in the day, regional action featuring Seahawks-Eagles in 61% of markets averaged a 10.4 (+16%) — the highest for the window in Week 12 since 2011 (12.2).
Figures were not immediately available for Sunday’s singleheader on CBS. NBC no longer releases overnights for its games.
[Nielsen estimates from Fox Sports]
