FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - Behind a fast start and three first quarter touchdown passes from quarterback Tom Brady, the New England Patriots broke into the win column for the first time in 2017 with a resounding 36-20 road victory yesterday against the New Orleans Saints. The Patriots success resonated with the local audience, as the victory was the highest-rated program in the Boston market, while WBZ's postgame coverage on Patriots 5th Quarter finished second for the week, just ahead of the Emmy Awards, also on CBS Sunday night.
Sunday's broadcast captured a household rating of 30.8, making it the highest-rated television program from the past week in the local market, while the market share of 65 surpassed that of the opening night primetime matchup against Kansas City. In comparison to other sports programming in that timeframe, the division-leading Boston Red Sox squared off at the Tampa Bay Rays with NESN's broadcast delivering a 1.5 household rating and a 3 market share.
The Patriots will return home next week as they host the Houston Texans at Gillette Stadium on Sunday, September 24. The 1:00 p.m. ET kickoff will be televised locally on WBZ with Ian Eagle calling the play-by-play and accompanied by color commentary from Dan Fouts.
HIGHEST RATED PROGRAMS IN BOSTON MARKET FOR PAST WEEK
SHOW / GAME | **NETWORK** | **DATE** | **RATING** |
**Patriots at Saints** | **CBS** | **9/17/2017** | **30.8** |
**Patriots 5th Quarter** | **CBS** | **9/17/2017** | **11.1** |
Emmy Awards | CBS | 9/17/2017 | 10.9 |
Cowboys at Broncos | FOX | 9/17/2017 | 10.6 |
Packers at Falcons | NBC | 9/17/2017 | 10.3 |