The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys are two of the most popular franchises in the NFL, so it is no surprise that they were scheduled for a Sunday Night Football game on NBC. The weather delay of nearly an hour and a half threatened what could have been record viewership, but they still managed a very impressive 20.3 million viewers, per NBC Sports PR on X.
This is a record for Sunday Night Football with six-straight broadcasts going over 20 million viewers.
That number likely would have been a little higher if it wasn’t for the delay. I would imagine the viewership dropped off a little after halftime with the second half starting just before midnight on the east coast. If it weren’t for the power of the Steelers and Cowboys brands, I wonder if the broadcast would have exceeded 20 million with the delay.
The game was also pretty low scoring and uneventful with just a 6-3 score entering halftime. With the delay and the lack of exciting offensive play, it is a wonder the broadcast mustered such an audience.
Business is booming for the NFL with viewership numbers still on the rise. The switch to YouTube Sunday ticket rather than DirectTV helped with access for a lot of fans, and the sport is still growing on the international stage, too. There is a reason the salary cap jumped almost $30 million per team entering the 2024 league year.
The Steelers ultimately lost at home after taking a lead in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys chewed up 4:36 of the clock on a 15-play drive, re-taking take the lead on a fourth down-play that decided the game. Ultimately, Dak Prescott connected with Jalen Tolbert for the score to put the game away.
It wasn’t the most exciting game throughout, but the finish delivered for the roughly 20 million fans watching.
