News / Latest News
Live

MEDIA CENTER

NOW: Patriots Replay

Listen to a replay of Tuesday's editions of PFW in Progress and Patriots Playbook.

Live Stream


Video Archive Audio Archive Photo Gallery
 
PFN ScheduleTV Schedule
 
Radio StationsPatriots Radio
 
RSS FeedsMedia Help

 

Patriots DeskSite - Get HD Patriots Video delivered right to your desktop. Download the Patriots iPhone App! Patriots.com Radio - Listen to Great Patriots Talk 24 hours a day Make your top 10 list Patriots Fan Club Registry - Find a fan club or add your own Follow the Patriots on Twitter Follow us on Facebook

 
12/6/07
 

Patriots game most-viewed cable TV program in history

  [-][+]
While the New England Patriots continue to set records on the field, they are also attracting national television viewers at a historic rate.

The New England Patriots’ 27-24 victory over the Baltimore Ravens on ESPN on Monday night was seen by 17,522,000 viewers according to Nielsen Media Research, making it the most-watched program in cable television history. The number of viewers for the game surpassed the 17,241,000 viewers who watched High School Musical 2 on the Disney Channel on Aug. 17, 2007. That program held the previous record for the largest cable television audience.

As of today, Patriots games are also the two highest-rated programs of any kind since the 2007-08 television season began on Sept. 24. New England’s 24-20 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Nov. 4 earned a 20.1 rating on CBS, which is the highest of any television program of any kind on any channel this season. The second highest-rated program of the 2007-08 television season is the Patriots’ 48-27 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 14, a telecast that earned an 18.0 national rating on CBS.

At any given point during the Patriots-Colts game on Nov. 4, 33.8 million viewers were watching, making it the largest audience for a Sunday afternoon regular-season NFL game since CBS began keeping records in 1987. In all, 66.4 million people watched at least six minutes of the Patriots-Colts game.

The Patriots-Cowboys also earned a historically high rating, although its records were eclipsed by the Patriots-Colts game the next month. The 18.0 rating earned by the Patriots-Cowboys game was at the time the highest-rated regular-season NFL game on CBS since the network resumed televising NFL games in 1998.

The Patriots-Ravens game this past Monday night earned an 11.1 rating, making it the highest-rated Monday Night Football game on ESPN and the highest-rated NFL game on ESPN in 12 years. The Patriots-Ravens game broke the previous ESPN Monday night record (10.6 rating) achieved by the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on Oct. 23, 2006. The 11.1 rating for the Patriots-Ravens game was the highest-rated NFL game on ESPN since Dec. 3, 1995, when a Buffalo-San Francisco game garnered a 12.8 rating.