A thriller between two storied franchises boosted CBS NFL ratings to a two-year high.
The Week 15 NFL national window, featuring Patriots-Steelers in 91% of markets, had a 17.0 overnight rating on CBS — up 8% from last year (mostly Patriots-Broncos: 15.8) and up 7% from 2015 (mostly Broncos-Steelers: 15.9).
The 17.0 overnight, which peaked at a 20.5 from 7-7:30 PM ET, is the highest of the NFL season. The previous mark of 16.0 was set one week earlier by the Week 15 national window on FOX (mostly Eagles-Rams).
In a more typical season for NFL ratings, a 17.0 overnight would have ranked lower, but still in the top ten. It would have been the third-highest overnight of last season, the seventh-highest of 2015, and the ninth-highest of 2014.
In addition to the season-high, the 17.0 is the highest for any regular season telecast on CBS in two years — since Week 10 of the 2015 season (mostly Patriots-Giants: 18.3).
Later in the night, Cowboys-Raiders scored a 12.3 overnight on NBC’s Sunday Night Football — down 20% from Buccaneers-Cowboys last year (15.3) but up 5% from Cardinals-Eagles in 2015 (11.7).
The 12.3 is the highest for a Raiders game on SNF, with the caveat that there have only been five — and three came this season alone.
Shifting to the early windows, singleheader coverage featuring Packers-Panthers in 54% of markets had an 11.6 overnight on FOX — down just a tick from last year (11.7) and down 24% from 2015 (mostly Panthers-Giants: 15.3).
CBS had a mere 6.7 for its early doubleheader window (-39%), likely the lowest of the season for an afternoon window on broadcast.
[Wknd. numbers via Sports Business Daily 12.18]
