Not since the days of Larry Hagman has Dallas been so important to a single network.
Buccaneers/Cowboys earned a 15.3 overnight rating on the Week 15 edition of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, up 31% from Cardinals/Eagles last year (11.7) and up 3% from Cowboys/Eagles in 2014 (14.9) — no small feat given Tampa Bay is far less of a traditional rival than Philadelphia.
The Cowboys’ win, which peaked at a 15.9 from 11-11:30 PM ET, delivered the highest overnight for SNF in Week 15 of the season since 2008 — when Giants/Cowboys had a 15.4. In the fast-nationals, released by NBC early Monday afternoon, it was the third-most watched Week 15 primetime game since 1995.
For the season, the 15.3 ranks third among primetime games behind Cowboys/Giants on SNF one week earlier and the Panthers/Broncos season opener (16.5 for both).
Sunday concluded a stretch of three straight Cowboys games on NBC, including a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Vikings. Each of those games increased by double-digits and hit a multi-year high.
Since the start of Week 10 on November 10, eight of NBC’s eleven NFL telecasts have increased over last year. That marks a sharp turnaround from the preceding nine weeks through November 7, when all ten NBC telecasts declined.
Dallas led all markets with a 40.6 rating, followed by Cowboys secondary markets San Antonio (27.7) and Austin (25.3). Tampa-St. Petersburg was sixth at a 23.0, trailing neutral markets Albuquerque (24.6) and Richmond, VA (23.3).
UPDATE 12/20: It was the third-most watched Week 15 primetime game since 1995, not the most-watched.
(Sun. numbers from NBC Sports)
