The SEC and AFC are big draws for CBS.
CBS is averaging a 10.4/22 rating for NFL telecasts, up 9% from last year. The 10.4 average is led by a 20.1/36 rating for last Sunday’s Patriots/Colts game. In a year where FOX, NBC and ESPN are seeing significant declines for NFL coverage, CBS, the black sheep of NFL rightsholders, is the only network to see improved ratings from last season.
So far this year, the two highest rated regular season NFL games of the season have aired on CBS. The aforementioned Patriots/Colts game, which drew a 20.1 rating, was the highest rated NFL regular season telecast in eleven years. A game between the Patriots and Cowboys in October drew an 18.0 rating, making it the second highest rated regular season telecast during the same span.
The AFC is not the only success story for CBS this fall. SEC college football games are averaging their highest rating in eight years. The SEC on CBS is averaging a 3.4 rating so far this season, up 13% from last year, and the highest average through this point of the season since 1999.
Last Saturday’s LSU/Alabama game, featuring Alabama coach Nick Saban versus his former team, drew a 4.0 rating, up 3% from the comparable LSU/Tennessee game last year.
