NFL Brazil Game Nabs Record Audience

On Sunday, CBS Sports broadcasted a Ravens-Cowboys NFL game from Rio de Janeiro which set new records for viewership. This marked the most-watched international NFL game in over three decades, averaging 24.9 million viewers. The game also held the title of the highest-rated Week 3 broadcast for CBS since 2014. In order to maximize ratings, the NFL scheduled this match during a national late-Sunday afternoon slot, a shift from the usual practice of airing international games either early in the morning or during prime time for U.S. viewers.

The strategic timing, combined with Rio de Janeiro's time zone proximity to the U.S. Eastern time zone, contributed to the game's success. The game's timing was also aided by a significant nor'easter that affected the densely populated U.S. Northeast, which likely further boosted the audience. The Ravens-Cowboys match was also notable for ending right after baseball's final regular season games and after Major League Baseball's playoff field was set.

The CBS Sports broadcast highlighted this strong week for NFL viewership, with Amazon Prime Video recording a 16.8 million viewership for the Thursday Night Football coverage of a Falcons-Packers game, a 2% increase from the same game in 2025. Fox's early Sunday afternoon coverage, featuring the Chargers-Bills game, averaged 17.9 million viewers, an 11% increase from the same window in 2025.

Through three weeks, CBS's NFL coverage averaged 19 million viewers, a 6% increase from the same period last year, demonstrating the network's upbeat outlook for the season. Despite this, NBC Sports had a viewing dip, averaging 20.8 million viewers for its Sunday Night Football game between the Broncos and Rams, a 18% drop from the same Week 3 game last year.

Nonetheless, each of NBC's first four NFL games for the season have exceeded 20 million in average viewership for the third consecutive season. The full audience data for Week 3 games will be released on Thursday.