The Thanksgiving holiday gave FOX the largest NFL regular season audience on any network in seven years.
The Week 13 Eagles/Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game drew a 14.2 final rating and 32.0 million viewers on FOX, down a tick in ratings but up 1% in viewership from Raiders/Cowboys on CBS last year (14.3, 31.7M) and up 5% and 11%, respectively, from Washington/Cowboys on FOX in 2012 (13.5, 28.7M).
The Eagles’ blowout win ranks as the most-watched NFL regular season telecast on any network Patriots/Giants in Week 17 of the 2007 season (34.5M) and the most-watched on Thanksgiving since Vikings/Cowboys on FOX in 1998 (32.7M).
The previous highs were held by Saints/Cowboys on Thanksgiving 2010, which earned 31.9 million on FOX.
Overall, Eagles/Cowboys generated the third-largest regular season NFL audience since 1998 — trailing Patriots/Giants in 2007 and regional action featuring Patriots/Colts earlier that year (33.8M). Three of the top five have been Thanksgiving Day games involving the Cowboys.
It should be pointed out that CBS also hit a seven-year high in Week 13, as its Patriots/Packers telecast drew the largest Sunday regular season audience since Week 9 in 2007. That game, however, had more than a million fewer viewers than Eagles/Cowboys.
Shifting to Sunday’s action, singleheader coverage featuring Saints/Steelers in 46% of markets drew a 9.6 final rating and 15.7 million viewers — down 3% in ratings and 5% in viewership from coverage featuring Rams/49ers last year (9.9, 16.5M) and down 24% and 25%, respectively, from coverage featuring Packers/Vikings in 2012 (12.6, 20.9M).
(Wknd. numbers from Sports Business Daily)
