New England Patriots
Patriots broadcasts on CBS are averaging a 24.4 household rating and 72 share in the Boston market. That’s up 23 percent from last season.
Fueled by the coach/quarterback combo of Mike Vrabel and Drake Maye, the Patriots’ rapid rise to the top of the AFC standings through 11 games has been the surprise of the NFL season.
What is not a surprise is the corresponding rise in television ratings for Patriots broadcasts, particularly locally.
NFL games — even Patriots broadcasts during down times, such as the back-to-back four-win seasons preceding this stunning rejuvenation — draw ratings and viewership numbers that are the envy of every other network and program on television.
But everyone loves a winner, and the Patriots, victors in their last eight games, are drawing Nielsen ratings well above what they had last season.
Through the first 10 weeks of the season, Patriots broadcasts on CBS (Ch.4 locally) are averaging a 24.4 household rating and 72 share in the Boston market. That’s up 23 percent from a 19.9 rating and 63 share over the same span last season.
And the disparity is probably even greater because of new audience measurement methodology Nielsen implemented in September.
That methodology combines the traditional “panel” measure — a demographically accurate sampling of households — it used for decades with a “Big Data” measure, which includes large amounts of information from smart TVs and set-top boxes, but at the expense of who-is-exactly-watching-this? specifics.
The “Big Data + Panel” hybrid has led to some understatement in local market ratings since it was implemented. So this season’s ratings are likely even more impressive year-over-year than the numbers state.
And yet the numbers are very impressive. Ratings and viewership numbers for the Patriots’ 27-14 win over the Jets Thursday night on Ch. 5 locally (and streamer Amazon Prime nationally) were not yet available at this writing.
But the Patriots’ previous game, a stirring 28-23 road victory over the Buccaneers in Week 10 during CBS’s 1 p.m. single-header window, averaged a 26.8 household rating and 75 share on Ch. 4. (Periodic reminder: A rating is the percentage of households in a defined area tuned in to a program at a given time. Share is the percentage of households with televisions in use.)
It should be noted that the Patriots’ ratings this season are not (yet) up to the standard set during the franchise’s two-decade dynasty. For instance, in 2018, their most recent Super Bowl-winning season, local broadcasts averaged a 35.3 rating and 66 share over the 16-game regular season (the NFL went to 17 games in 2021).
But like the current team, the ratings are clearly headed in the right direction, and perhaps toward even bigger achievements. The 26.8 share for the Bucs game was the highest household rating for a Patriots game on any network since their 2023 season-opener against the Eagles on CBS (30.0/66).
The Patriots are excellent again, and they’re a television draw once more. Funny how that coincides. Every other fan base around the rest of the country must be thrilled.
YouTube/Disney dispute ends
Call it optimism mixed with a necessary dose of cynicism, but I wasn’t surprised YouTube TV’s carriage spat with Disney was resolved Friday night, with ESPN, ABC, and other networks restored to the streaming service after a two-week absence.
The reasons? Growing customer frustrations. But mostly, money. Lost money.
YouTube TV, owned by Alphabet, has more resources than even Disney, but both sides were taking a hit financially as the stalemate headed toward the third weekend.
YouTube TV’s 10 million subscribers were growing increasingly angry about missing programming on Disney-owned channels such as ESPN (home of Monday Night Football) when they fork over nearly $85 per month for the service. I’ve been a YouTube TV subscriber since it cost $34.99 a month, like the product and its interface a lot, and I was considering getting out.
Meanwhile, Disney was missing out on the carriage fees from YouTube TV. And ESPN qas receiving viewer vitriol for having some more prominent personalities push their direct-to-consumer app as an alternative to YouTube TV. As it turns out, a nice perk from the new deal for YouTube TV subscribers is access to ESPN’s DTC product.
Both sides were ticking off their customers, and both were starting to feel the financial consequences. The latter hits them harder than the former, and that ultimately led to the resolution.
Welcome back, Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. We missed you the last two Monday nights.
Tirico terrific on basketball call
After thoroughly enjoying Mike Tirico’s one-game shake-the-rust-off stint last season when he called a Celtics game on NBC Sports Boston, then catching a smattering of his broadcasts this season on NBC/Peacock, I’ve got a hot take: I think basketball might be the sport one of the most versatile play-by-play voices of his generation calls best … No pair of hosts in the Boston sports radio market have better chemistry than Adam Jones and Rich Keefe on WEEI’s midday show. I know, I never thought I’d compliment Jones, either. … Longtime “Inside the NBA” analyst Kenny Smith signed a multi-year deal this week with ESPN, which is licensing the legendary former TNT studio show. He will guest on “NBA Countdown” and appear on “First Take” as part of his new deal. ESPN insisted they’d keep “Inside the NBA” independent and true to its beloved format, but I told you they’d start blurring the lines in some way.
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