FOX is five-for-five to start the NFL season.
Sunday’s NFL singleheader window, featuring Broncos-Packers or Dolphins-Cowboys in most markets, averaged a 10.8 rating and 18.66 million viewers on FOX — marking the highest rated and most-watched Week 3 singleheader since 2016 (Washington-NY Giants: 11.1, 19.17M).
The telecast increased 54% in ratings and 56% in viewership from last year on CBS (7.0, 11.94M) and 17% and 21% respectively from 2016 (ft. Giants-Eagles: 9.2, 15.44M). Viewership even increased 4% over last year’s Week 3 doubleheader on FOX, which averaged 17.91 across both windows.
All five NFL telecasts on FOX this season have posted an increase in ratings and/or viewership, making it the only network that has not suffered a decline thus far.
Through three weeks, the NFL on FOX is averaging 19.09 million viewers (+7%), its highest average since 2016. FOX joins rival CBS in averaging a three-year high.
Milwaukee led all markets for Sunday’s telecast with a 41.1 rating and a 70 share (meaning that 70% of televisions in use were tuned to the game). Minneapolis-St. Paul ranked second at a 31.4/67. Philadelphia (28.6/56), Dallas (28.2/58) and Denver (26.1/60) rounded out the top five.
Notably, Miami-Ft. Lauderdale chipped in a mere 9.4/23 for the woeful Dolphins’ loss to the Cowboys. The only home market to do worse was the Bay Area, which averaged a 6.2 for a Raiders game that began at a 10 AM local time.
The singleheader posted the second-largest audience of Week 3, narrowly edging NBC’s Sunday Night Football (Rams-Browns: 10.8, 18.59M) and comfortably ahead of the competing early window on CBS (mostly Ravens-Chiefs: 8.3, 13.66M).
[Nielsen estimates from Fox Sports PR 9.24, ShowBuzz Daily 9.24]
