Morning Edition

September 30, 2026

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The Ravens-Cowboys game from Rio de Janeiro averaged 24.9 million viewers for CBS Sports on Sunday, becoming the most-watched NFL international game. The game was set up for a big audience, slotting into the late-afternoon slot and concluding after the MLB playoff matchups had already been determined.

—Eric Fisher

First Up

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The Presidents Cup had its highest viewership since 2017, aided by the U.S. team’s come-from-behind victory.

NFL Brazil Game Nabs Record Audience

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

CBS Sports’s coverage last Sunday of a Ravens-Cowboys game from Rio de Janeiro made history on multiple fronts, extending the NFL’s viewership resurgence.

The network said late Tuesday that the game averaged 24.9 million viewers, making it the most-watched NFL international game in records going back to the late 1980s. It also was the most-watched Week 3 game for CBS since 2014.

The game from Brazil was set up for ratings success in several ways. The broadcast was purposely scheduled in a national late-Sunday afternoon slot, traditionally the NFL’s most-watched window. That placement diverged from the NFL’s typical practice of staging international games in either early-morning or primetime windows for U.S. audiences.

Rio de Janeiro is only one hour ahead of the U.S. Eastern time zone, allowing much more schedule flexibility than games played in Europe or Australia.

Sunday’s audience metrics were also likely boosted by a serious nor’easter that hit much of the highly populated U.S. Northeast corridor. Additionally, the Ravens-Cowboys game ended after MLB’s final regular-season games and after that league’s playoff field was set.

The CBS Sports broadcast highlighted another strong week for NFL viewership. Among the other Week 3 highlights:

Amazon Prime Video averaged 16.8 million viewers for the Thursday Night Football coverage of a Falcons-Packers game, up 2% from the comparable game in 2025. The online retail and streaming giant is off to its best viewership start since it gained exclusive TNF rights in 2022.
Fox Sports averaged 17.9 million viewers for its early Sunday afternoon coverage, led in part by a Chargers-Bills game. That figure was the highest in that slot, and up 11% over the comparable window from 2025.
Through three weeks, CBS is averaging 19 million viewers for its NFL coverage, up 6% from the comparable period in a record-setting 2025 and supporting the network’s bullishness heading into this season.

Those figures continue the historic upswell seen during Week 2 and further reverse the 13% viewership decline from Week 1. Full audience data from Week 3 games will be released Thursday.

NBC Sports was a slight aberration from the larger trend, averaging 20.8 million viewers for its Sunday Night Football game between the Broncos and Rams, down 18% from a comparable Week 3 game last year between the Giants and Chiefs, perennially one of the NFL’s most-watched teams. Still, each of the network’s first four NFL games has topped 20 million in average viewership for the third straight season.

Dow’s Impact Beyond the Scorecard

A golf partnership can be about more than what happens on the course. For Dow and the LPGA, it has become a platform for advancing women’s golf while connecting competition with innovation, sustainability, and community impact.

The Dow Championship, Team Dow – The Next Generation and the Dow Impact Award each play a role in that broader strategy, from supporting emerging professionals to creating opportunities for athletes to make a difference off the course.

Together, these initiatives illustrate how Dow is using its investment in the LPGA to build lasting impact across the sport and beyond.

Read the full story to see how Dow is putting purpose at the center of its partnership with the LPGA.

ONE BIG FIG

Attendance Is Optional

Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

30,127

That’s the announced attendance for Tuesday’s wild-card game between the Phillies and Braves at Atlanta’s Truist Park, which holds 41,417 people. The Braves averaged 34,573 fans per game during the 2026 regular season, the 10th highest in MLB. Tuesday’s Game 1 contest, which began at 2:16 p.m. ET, marked the return of postseason baseball to NBC after 26 years. Those in attendance saw Atlanta beat Philadelphia 5–3 for its first postseason win since 2023.

MLB didn’t finalize the wild-card schedule until the completion of the regular season Sunday, and the scheduling has seemingly affected attendance at afternoon games in the past. Last year’s 1:00 p.m. ET Game 1 matchup between the Tigers and Guardians drew just 26,186 people to Cleveland’s Progressive Field; its 34,820-person capacity already makes it one of the smallest parks in the majors.

DAILY SPORTS TRIVIA

Can you rank the top five MLB players by most career no-hitters thrown?

LOUD AND CLEAR

LaLiga President Gets ‘Serious’

Albert Gea-Reuters

“The most serious incident in the history of football.”

—LaLiga president Javier Tebas referring to how FIFA decided to defer U.S. forward Folarin Balogun’s one-game suspension after he earned a red card during the World Cup round of 32. In a rare move, FIFA allowed Balogun to play after U.S. President Donald Trump personally called FIFA president Gianni Infantino about the matter.

Tebas was making a wider point about FIFA and Infantino making decisions without considering “stakeholders across the industry,” noting, “there needs to be someone who can devise a change in governance.” Infantino finds himself under fire from multiple soccer associations, including many in Europe, over a plan to sell private stakes in the World Cup. Infantino withdrew that plan when associations claimed the project moved forward without consultation, and many have withdrawn support for Infantino’s presidency.

Growing the Game in Puerto Rico

As October baseball takes center stage, Orlando Health and the Tampa Bay Rays are proving some of the game’s biggest wins happen at the Little League level.

After expanding in Puerto Rico through Doctors’ Center Hospital Orlando Health – Dorado, Orlando Health, the official healthcare partner of the Rays, teamed up with the club to help rebuild local practice fields on the island. Young players received brand-new bats and gloves, along with maintenance tools to keep their fields game-ready. Staying healthy is part of playing well, so teams are equipped with sunscreen, water bottles, hats, and cooling towels for success on and off the field.

Closer to home, Orlando Health Medical Pavilion – Institute Square in St. Petersburg offers expert sports medicine and orthopedic care under one roof.