FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The Patriots 45-3 win over the Jets on ESPN's Monday Night Football on Dec. 6 drew the third-highest regular season local ratings in franchise history with a 42.2 household rating in the Boston market. Over one million people tuned in to ESPN and WCVB in the local market to watch New England improve to 10-2 on the season.
The Patriots-Jets game was the highest-rated game of the season in the local market and the third-highest all time, topping the Patriots Nov. 22 victory over the Colts, which had previously set the mark for the third-highest regular season local ratings.
Monday night's game is only surpassed by New England's Dec. 29, 2007 win over the New York Giants that completed the only 16-0 regular season in NFL history and a Dec. 7, 2003 victory over the Dolphins. The Dec. 29, 2007 Patriots-Giants game earned a 50.1 HH rating in the Boston market, a rating that represents an unprecedented four-way telecast in which the game was seen in Boston on NFL Network, WBZ-TV Channel 4 (CBS), WCVB-TV Channel 5 (ABC) and WHDH-TV Channel 7 (NBC).
The Patriots continued their record-setting pace for HH ratings through 13 weeks in their designated market area with an average 33.4 HH rating. In addition, New England owns the 10 most-watched television programs in the Boston area since football season began, with the Patriots-Jets game topping the list.
Nationally, the battle between elite AFC East rivals on ESPN's Monday Night Football earned an 10.0 HH coverage rating with over 16 million households tuning in to watch only the fifth meeting ever between two teams with a 9-2 or better record on Monday Night Football. The game drew the highest ratings of all programs for Monday night, drawing more viewers than any show on broadcast television.
The Patriots-Jets game also ranks as cable television's 10th most-viewed program of all-time and the fifth most-viewed cable program of the year.
This season, the Patriots have also been part of two record-setting NFL broadcasts. New England's 23-20 overtime victory over Baltimore on Sunday, Oct. 17 helped CBS set the mark for the highest rating for its single-game window since it acquired the current AFC package in 1998. The Patriots-Jets game on Sunday, Sept. 19 was the most-watched September CBS game ever.
This week, the Patriots travel to Chicago to face the NFC North Division-leading Bears (9-3) on Sunday, Dec. 12. The game will be broadcast to a national CBS audience with Jim Nantz and Phil Simms calling the game. Kickoff is scheduled for 4:15 p.m. ET. and will air locally on WBZ in Boston and WPRI in Providence.
| HIGHEST RATED PATRIOTS REGULAR SEASON GAMES IN BOSTON TV MARKET | |||
| Rank | Date | Opponent | HH Rat. |
| 1. | 12/29/07 | @ New York Giants | 50.10 |
| 2. | 12/07/03 | Miami | 43.80 |
| 3. | 12/06/10 | New York Jets | 42.20 |
| 4. | 11/21/10 | Indianapolis | 42.04 |
| 5. | 12/16/07 | New York Jets | 40.40 |
*Games from this season in bold
| PATRIOTS 2010 RATINGS IN BOSTON TV MARKET | |||||
| Date | Opponent | Network | Boston TV | HH Rat. | HH Share |
| 9/12 | Cincinnati | CBS | WBZ | 28.70 | 59 |
| 9/19 | @ New York Jets | CBS | WBZ | 34.96 | 61 |
| 9/26 | Buffalo | CBS | WBZ | 29.30 | 62 |
| 10/04 | @ Miami | ESPN | WCVB | 30.70 | 48 |
| 10/17 | Baltimore | CBS | WBZ | 29.84 | 61 |
| 10/24 | @ San Diego | CBS | WBZ | 35.10 | 58 |
| 10/31 | Minnesota | FOX | WFXT | 36.13 | 64 |
| 11/07 | @ Cleveland | CBS | WBZ | 30.73 | 60 |
| 11/14 | @ Pittsburgh | NBC | WHDH | 36.39 | 55 |
| 11/21 | Indianapolis | CBS | WBZ | 42.04 | 67 |
| 11/25 | @ Detroit | CBS | WBZ | 25.24 | 69 |
| 12/06 | New York Jets | ESPN | WCVB | 42.20 | 62 |
| Avg. | 33.44 | 60.5 | |||
