Being the network of the NFC package since 1994 has certainly paid dividends for Fox. By having the conference with teams in the largest markets of the country, Fox has been able to post better ratings than CBS which has the AFC. Thanks to its ability to tap into markets such as Atlanta, New York, Chicago, Dallas and San Francisco, Fox saw its second most-watched season in its history of carrying NFL games.

Fox averaged 20.745 million viewers per game with a 12.0 rating and a 25 share. It’s just below the 2013 season which averaged a record 21.3 million viewers. For what it calls “America’s Game of the Week”, Fox had an average of 26.8 million viewers for its nine national 4:25 windows. It also saw an average rating/share of 15.4/29 for the late games.

Over the last seven seasons, Fox has seen its best viewership televising NFL games:

2013 – 21.2 million
2015 – 20.745 million
2014 – 20.728 million
2010 – 20.111 million
2011 – 20.096 million
2012 – 19.7 million
2009 – 19.1 million

And as an offshoot, Fox NFL Sunday continued to be the top-rated and most-watched pregame show with a 3.5/9 and 5.3 million viewers besting CBS’ The NFL Today by 40% in ratings, the widest gap between the two since the 2004 season.

So it was another successful season for the NFL on Fox. Its best numbers for the season came in Week 8 when the Dallas Cowboys took on the Seattle Seahawks that had a 17.0 rating and 29.4 million viewers.

One new feature for Fox this season is out-of-home viewing in bars and restaurants and according to the network, it saw a 19% jump in ratings through Week 14 except for its lone London game which was played in the 9:30 a.m. ET window.

Fox certainly has many reasons to be happy over its numbers this season.

About Ken Fang

Ken has been covering the sports media in earnest at his own site, Fang's Bites since May 2007 and at Awful Announcing since March 2013.

He provides a unique perspective having been an award-winning radio news reporter in Providence and having worked in local television.

Fang celebrates the four Boston Red Sox World Championships in the 21st Century, but continues to be a long-suffering Cleveland Browns fan.

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