With a playoff spot on the line, the Cowboys-Eagles rivalry scored the NFL’s highest Week 16 ratings in four years.
Sunday’s Week 16 NFL national window (Cowboys-Eagles in 88% of markets) averaged a 14.2 rating and 25.32 million viewers on FOX, marking the highest rated and most-watched Week 16 NFL window since 2015 (mostly Packers-Cardinals: 15.5, 27.81M).
The telecast ranks as the third-highest rated and fifth-most watched of the season. The Cowboys have played in three of the top five.
Five NFL windows this season have exceeded 25 million viewers, the most in a single season since 2016 (ten). That does not include the Week 12 national window (mostly Patriots-Eagles), which averaged 24.89 million in the initial count and has likely been adjusted upward since.
Ratings and viewership increased 6% from last year on CBS (Steelers-Saints: 13.4, 23.92M) and 16% and 10% respectively from 2017 on FOX (mostly Seahawks-Cowboys: 12.2, 23.03M). The 2017 telecast took place on Christmas Eve.
Philadelphia was the top market for the window with a 37.4 rating and 65 share. Seattle, which received the Seahawks-Cardinals game, ranked second (35.5/71). Dallas-Ft. Worth was third at a 29.9/60.
Earlier in the day, regional action featuring Saints-Titans in 75% of markets averaged an 8.35 (-2%) and 13.78 million (-5%).
The early window averaged a 3.2 rating in adults 18-49 (-13%) and the late window a 6.4 (+7%).
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 12.24]
