As one could expect, America’s Team propelled NBC to a strong audience on Sunday night, even if they couldn’t propel themselves to victory.
NBC’s Sunday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers averaged 23.9 million viewers for the network across television and streaming, per Nielsen’s fast nationals.
Last night’s @dallascowboys –@49ers Matchup Delivered Best Week 8 Audience on Record for NBC Sunday Night Football
Details: https://t.co/Wr9n5LAr77 pic.twitter.com/RVBq5f2ayI
— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) October 28, 2024
Per NBC, Sunday’s game was the most-watched Week 8 game on record for the network. It easily beat out last year’s Week 8 contest between the Chicago Bears and Los Angeles Chargers, which drew 16.7 million for a Chargers blowout.
The SNF franchise, which is regularly the most-watched primetime show in the United States, is off to its best start since 2015 according to NBC. Through Week 8, Sunday Night Football is averaging 22.4 million viewers across television and streaming.
Cowboys-49ers was a good bounce back for NBC following a so-so audience for the New York Jets and Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 7. That game averaged 17.64 million viewers per Sports Media Watch, and faced stiff competition from two other New York area franchises; the New York Mets in the NLCS and New York Liberty in Game 5 of the WNBA Finals.
Unsurprisingly, Dallas was the top metered market for Sunday’s game, scoring a 22.0 rating and 58 share. San Francisco slotted in third with an 18.7 rating and 59 share.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.