FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – The Patriots remained perfect on Sunday with a 23-3 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Gillette Stadium, improving their record to 3-0 for the first time since the 2007 season. The victory was also a success in the broadcast booth, as FOX's regional telecast drew the second-highest Week 3 ratings in team history with an average household rating of 30.8 in the Boston market.
The only other Week 3 contest to garner higher ratings in the Boston market was last season's nationally-televised primetime tilt against the Baltimore Ravens on NBC's Sunday Night Football, which earned an average household rating of 36.1. That game aside, the last time a Week 3 Patriots game came close to this Sunday's contest in ratings was in 2005, when the team's faceoff with the Pittsburgh Steelers drew a 29.9 average household rating.
FOX's regional telecast, which aired locally in the Boston area on WFXT-Channel 25, also garnered an average share of 59.0, meaning that an average of 59 percent of all televisions in the Boston market tuned in to FOX between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m to watch the Patriots. This number is second all-time in Patriots history behind the team's Week 3 contest against the Buffalo Bills in 2010, which drew an average share of 62.0.
The Patriots hit the road next weekend to take on the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday, Sept. 29 in a primetime matchup. NBC's Sunday Night Football crew will air the contest at 8:30 p.m., with Al Michaels and Chris Collinsworth providing the call from the broadcast booth and Michele Tafoya reporting from the sidelines. The game can be viewed locally in the Boston market on WHDH-Channel 7.
HIGHEST WEEK 3 TELEVISION RATINGS, PATRIOTS HISTORY
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Date |
Opponent |
Network (Boston TV) | Household Rating | Average Share | ||
9/23/2012 |
vs. BAL |
NBC (WHDH) |
36.1 |
57 | ||
9/22/2013 |
vs. TB |
FOX (WFXT) |
30.3 |
59 | ||
9/25/2005 |
vs. PIT |
CBS (WBZ) |
29.9 |
52 | ||
9/26/2010 |
vs. BUF |
CBS (WBZ) |
29.3 |
62 | ||
9/26/1999 |
vs. NYG |
ESPN (WBZ) |
27.9 |
41 |