The regular season debut of the Cowboys’ new stadium gave NBC the highest overnight for a prime time NFL game in 11 years.
The Giants’ victory over the Cowboys drew a 16.5/27 overnight rating on NBC Sunday night, the highest overnight ever for a Sunday Night Football telecast on NBC. The 16.5 overnight ranks as the highest for any primetime regular season NFL telecast since ABC drew a 17.4/27 for Broncos/Dolphins in ’98.
Sunday’s game drew a 41.7/61 in Dallas and a 19.3/31 in New York.
To put the numbers in perspective, the 16.5 for Giants/Cowboys tops every non-NFL sporting event this year, with the lone exception of January’s BCS National Championship Game (17.0/27).
Additionally, the game outdrew the competing Emmy Awards by 65% (16.5 to 10.0).
