Save for Dallas, no NFL team is moving the needle like the New Orleans Saints.
Sunday’s Week 7 NFL national window (Saints-Bears in 64% of markets) averaged a 13.3 rating and 23.04 million viewers on FOX, marking the highest rated and most-watched Week 7 NFL telecast since Cowboys-Giants on FOX in 2015 (14.4, 24.47M).
The NFL has now scored its largest Week 3, Week 4, Week 5 and Week 7 audiences since 2015, in addition to its top Week 1 and Week 6 audiences since 2016.
The telecast, which also included Ravens-Seahawks, delivered the fourth-highest rating and fifth-largest audience of the NFL season. Four of the top six windows have featured the Saints.
Ratings increased 9% and viewership 10% from Week 7 last year (mostly Dallas-Washington: 12.2, 20.88M) and 18% and 16% respectively from 2017 (mostly Bengals-Steelers: 11.3, 19.85M). Those telecasts aired on CBS.
So far this season, ratings and viewership have increased for all five windows to feature the Saints in a majority of markets. The national window has increased in six of seven weeks, hitting multi-year highs in five.
FOX has scored increases for 12 of its 15 windows, a list that includes Thursday Night Football.
Among the rare exceptions was Sunday’s early window, which featured Vikings-Lions or Cardinals-Giants in most of the country. The telecast averaged a 7.05 rating (-7%) and 11.88 million viewers (-6%), the lowest for the window in Week 7 since 2016 on CBS (7.0, 11.34M).
FOX is now averaging 18.72 million viewers for the season (+7%), its highest average at this point of the year since 2016.
Seattle was the top home market for the national window with a 36.7 rating and a 71 share. Baltimore had a 28.5/48 and Chicago a 26.0/53. New Orleans is no longer included in Nielsen overnight ratings.
Minneapolis led home markets for the early window with a 33.5/78. Detroit ranked second at a 23.9/55, followed by Phoenix at a 19.1/46.
The early window scored a 3.4 rating in adults 18-49 (-3%) and the late window a 6.4 (+10%).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 10.22, Fox Sports PR 10.22]
