Airing a Cowboys game for the first time in three years, NFL Network scored one of its largest Thursday Night Football audiences ever.
The Week 14 Cowboys/Bears Thursday Night Football game drew 9.1 million viewers on NFL Network, up 97% from Texans/Jaguars last year (4.6M) and up 35% from Broncos/Raiders in 2012 (6.8M). Viewership does not factor in local simulcasts of the game in the home markets.
The Cowboys’ blowout win ranks as the fifth-most watched NFL telecast ever on NFL Network alone (not including viewership on local affiliate or CBS simulcasts).
So far this season, four of the five TNF games on NFL Network alone have had increases in viewership over last year. Chiefs/Raiders in Week 12 is the only exception, with viewership slipping by less than one percent.
Thursday’s game had a 3.2 rating among adults 18-49, up 88% from last year (1.7) and up 28% from 2012 (2.5).
(Thu. numbers from TV By the Numbers)
