The NFL’s national window slid for the second straight week in Week 4 thanks to the Cowboys hammering the Patriots 38-3.
In the 4:25 p.m. ET window, Fox averaged 23.374 million viewers, a drop of nearly one million from Week 3’s Chiefs-Bears game and over two million down from Jets-Cowboys in Week 2.
This was also the first time in three weeks that the late afternoon window didn’t win the week, with Sunday Night Football storming to a victory instead.
CBS continued its strong start to its season with another increase from last year. Its five-game window (with half the country getting Dolphins-Bills) averaged 16.863 million viewers, up from last year, but down from last week’s singleheader (highlighted by Patriots-Jets). The network is also thriving in the streaming world, with Paramount+ delivering double-digit growth in several relevant metrics.
The @NFLonCBS kicks off October with its most-watched Week 4 singleheader since 2010, led by Dolphins-Bills with nearly 17 million viewers, up +15% pic.twitter.com/GUP1EJeNb4
— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) October 3, 2023
Fox’s early window, featuring five games (Commanders-Eagles was the most widely distributed) averaged 13.207 million viewers, up from last week and down from last year.
Thursday Night Football on Prime Video also slid for the second week in a row, averaging 13.48 million viewers for the Lions’ win over the Packers. Despite the week-to-week decline, TNF viewership has increased all three weeks compared to the 2022 season.
Looking ahead to Week 5, Prime Video has a pretty ghastly Bears-Commanders matchup on tap. NFL Network has the Jaguars and Bills in London, which could deliver some surprising viewership given Buffalo’s popularity. Fox has the singleheader, highlighted by Giants-Dolphins and Eagles-Rams. CBS has the doubleheader, with Ravens-Steelers standing out in a three-game early window and Chiefs-Vikings in the late window. NBC has an impressive-looking Cowboys-49ers game on Sunday Night Football, while ABC and ESPN will air Packers-Raiders on Monday Night Football.
