Patriots-Giants game draws big audience

Print More

Football fans around the country flocked to their TV sets last weekend, taking advantage of an expanded opportunity to see the Patriots become the first team in NFL history to go 16-0 in the regular season.

An average of 34.5 million viewers watched New England rally to beat the New York Giants 38-35 last Saturday night. It was the most-watched regular-season game since the Kansas City Chiefs played the Dallas Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in 1995.

In most of the country, the Patriots’ finale against the Giants was originally scheduled to be shown only on the NFL Network. But the NFL decided it would simulcast the game on CBS and NBC, the first three-network simulcast in league history.

CBS drew 15.7 million viewers, while NBC drew 13.2 million and the NFL Network 4.5 million. Local stations in New York and New England combined for an additional 1.2 million viewers.

Comments are closed.