On a night when LeBron James returned to Cleveland and Florida State staved off an upset, the NFL was far and away the top television draw.
The Week 9 Saints/Panthers Thursday Night Football game drew 6.9 million viewers on NFL Network, up 6% from Bengals/Dolphins last year (6.5M) and up 43% from Chiefs/Chargers in 2012 (4.8M). Viewership does not include simulcast coverage on local affiliates in the home markets.
Saints/Panthers was the first Thursday night game of the season to air exclusively on NFL Network. The first seven aired on both NFL Network and CBS. Not surprisingly, viewership was less than half the 16.5 million TNF for those games.
Despite the smaller audience, Saints/Panthers was easily the top draw of a busy sports night. The game topped Florida State’s near upset at the hands of Louisville on ESPN by 38% (5.0M) and LeBron James return to Cleveland on TNT by 71% (4.0M).
Among adults 18-49, TNF drew a 2.3 rating — down 8% from last year (2.5) but up 15% from 2012 (2.0). It topped the NBA game by 35% in the demo (2.3 to 1.7) and the college football game by 44% (2.3 to 1.6).
(Thu. numbers from TV By the Numbers)
