After a hot start, Sunday Night Football has cooled off as of late.
The Week 14 Patriots/Texans Sunday Night Football game earned a 12.3 final rating and 21.0 million viewers on NBC, down 4% in ratings and 1% in viewership from Patriots/Chargers last year (12.8, 21.2M) but up 9% and 10%, respectively, from Panthers/Saints in 2013 (11.3, 19.1M).
The Patriots’ win was the third SNF telecast in the past four weeks to have a decline in ratings and viewership. After starting the season with increases for each of its first seven telecasts, NBC has now had declines for four of its past nine.
Sunday’s game ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched Patriots game on NBC this season (four telecasts), though it still topped two of New England’s three appearances on the network last year. It also earned the largest audience ever for a primetime Texans game (five telecasts).
Among adults 18-49, SNF scored a 7.0 rating — down a tick from last year (7.1) but up a tick from 2013 (6.9).
(Sun. numbers via TV Media Insights)
