The Baltimore Ravens earned a dramatic victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in Rio de Janeiro, which also became a big win for CBS Sports.
The network said the Ravens’ 34-31 win, secured on a 56-yard field goal as time expired, averaged 24.9 million viewers to make it the most-watched NFL international game dating back to the late 1980s, Front Office Sports reported on Wednesday.
The Brazil game also had the highest viewership for a Week 3 contest on CBS since 2014, per the report.
While games played in Europe or Australia, for example, have less schedule flexibility because of vast differences from time zones in the United States, Brazil is only one hour ahead of U.S. Eastern time.
The Ravens and “host” Cowboys played in the national late Sunday afternoon window, while other international games typically have been played in early morning or primetime slots in the United States.
CBS averaged 19 million viewers for its NFL games in the first three weeks, up 6% from a comparable span in 2025, per the report.
Amazon Prime Video also got a boost from its “Thursday Night Football” game between the Green Bay Packers and triumphant underdog Atlanta Falcons — attracting an average of 16.8 million viewers that marked a 2% increase from the comparable game last season.
Fox Sports’ early Sunday afternoon coverage averaged 17.9 million viewers, an 11% increase from a comparable window in 2025.
NBC Sports’ coverage of the “Sunday Night Football” contest between the Los Angeles Rams and victorious Denver Broncos averaged 20.8 million viewers, an 18% decrease from the Week 3 game in 2025 between the New York Giants and Kansas City Chiefs.