CBS Draws 50M Viewers For Epic NFL, CFB Slate

CBS Sports had a weekend to remember as it generated massive TV audiences for its pro and college football coverage

By luck of the schedule, CBS aired Alabama vs. Tennessee and Buffalo Bills vs. Kansas City Chiefs back-to-back on Saturday and Sunday. Between the two marquee games, and the network’s regional coverage of Baltimore Ravens vs. New York Giants on Sunday, CBS totaled a combined average viewership of 50.418 million viewers with 10.36 billion minutes consumed.

The Bills’ thrilling 24-20 win over the Chiefs was CBS’ most-watched Week 6 “NFL on CBS” telecast in 15 years. 

• The late-afternoon telecast averaged 25.407 million viewers, up 7% over the comparable game window last year and 43% from the two teams’ primetime matchup last year.
• With the Giants suddenly relevant again in the country’s largest TV market, the network’s regional coverage of the Giants’ 24-20 comeback win over the Ravens averaged 13.454 million viewers, up 7% from last year. 
• CBS’ Week 2 broadcast of the Dallas Cowboys vs. Cincinnati Bengals (27.391M) remains the most-watched NFL game so far season-to-date.

Tennessee’s equally thrilling 52-49 win over Alabama was the most-watched college football game on any TV network season-to-date. 

• The game averaged 11.557 million viewers, up 145% from last season and besting Texas-Alabama — the previous most-watched game this season (10.6M).
• As the game reached its finish, Tennessee-Alabama viewership peaked at nearly 17 million. 
• It was the most-watched regular season game on CBS since Alabama-LSU drew 16.712 million viewers in 2019. 

CBS has now broadcast the most-watched college football for five weeks in a row.