International football does better on TV when it can be played in windows that traditionally get bigger numbers. The Week 3 Ravens-Cowboys game in Brazil landed in the best window yet for any international game — 4:25 p.m. ET on a Sunday afternoon.
And it delivered. CBS has announced that 24.9 million watched the 34-31 thriller. It’s the biggest audience yet for any NFL game not played in the U.S.
Frankly, we would have expected an even larger number. It’s the Cowboys, for crying out loud. America’s team goes to South America. Throw in a two-time MVP in Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and make it a high-scoring game that went down to the wire, and it feels like it should have been closer to 30 million than 25 million.
The NFL’s annual early-morning European games begin this weekend, witha whopping six 9:30 a.m. ET kickoffs in seven weeks. (So much for the pregame shows.)
