Lastly, while there’s still one week of regular-season action left to unfold this weekend, the Nielsen Gods may be getting ready to crown a new ratings champ for the first time in 15 years. While Fox’s “America’s Game of the Week” window has cast a long shadow over the TV landscape, CBS’ own Sunday 4:25 p.m. ET slate may steal the title as the tube’s top-ranked program once the final numbers are tabulated next Tuesday.
Through Week 17, CBS’ national window is averaging 24.992 million viewers per outing, giving the Tiffany Network a 62,000-viewer advantage over Fox. While Fox could pull ahead on Sunday afternoon, as
Kevin Burkhardt and Greg Olsen will be calling the Dallas-Washington game opposite Jim Nantz and Tony Romo’s Chicago-Green Bay duties, CBS’ hybrid AFC-NFC coverage is putting up the network’s highest deliveries since 1998.
As for the outlook for 2024, the NFL’s dominance over the field will face a challenge later in the year as the presidential election intrigue begins to come to a gentle simmer. As America steers the rickety tricycle of its fading dominion toward the boundless horizon of shouty derangement, football will find itself in the unfamiliar position of having to fight for hearts and minds and eyeballs. It’s also an Olympics year. While betting against the Shield is a mug’s game, it’s safe to assume we won’t see a repeat performance of the NFL’s monocle-popping 93/100 run when it comes time to count the house a year from now.
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