An upset by the winless Jets delivered a solid increase for CBS.
The Week 6 NFL national window, featuring Cowboys-Jets in 91% of markets, averaged a 13.8 overnight rating on CBS — up 15% from last year (mostly Jaguars-Cowboys: 12.0), but down 1% from 2017 (mostly Steelers-Chiefs: 14.0).
The national window has now increased in five of six weeks this season, with Sunday’s 15% bump the biggest yet. As is typical, the national window was the top NFL telecast of the weekend.
Even with the increase, the 13.8 overnight is the second-lowest for the national window this season. Week 4 coverage (mostly Vikings-Bears) had a 13.0. The 13.8 is also the second-lowest for the window in Week 6 since 2006 (mostly Chiefs-Steelers: 13.5).
Earlier in the day, regional action featuring Texans-Chiefs in 72% of markets averaged an 8.0 (-11%), tied as the lowest Week 6 rating in that window since 2005 (7.9).
Over on FOX, singleheader coverage featuring Eagles-Vikings or 49ers-Rams averaged an 11.6 — down a tick from last year (ft. Carolina-Washington: 11.7) but up 17% from 2017 (ft. Packers-Vikings: 9.9). The 11.6 is tied as the highest for the window this season.
NBC is no longer releasing overnights for Sunday Night Football games.
Nielsen has overhauled its overnight ratings, which are now based on 44 metered markets rather than 56. In addition to NBC, ESPN is also moving away from reporting overnights.
[Nielsen estimates from CBS Sports PR/Twitter 10.14, CBS Sports, Fox Sports]
