Thanksgiving NFL ratings hit multi-year lows in the metered markets. In other news, the Warriors-Thunder rivalry gave ESPN a boost, and NASCAR’s secondary series posted declines for their season finales.
Thanksgiving NFL Ratings Take Hit in Metered Markets
Thursday’s Chargers-Cowboys NFL Thanksgiving special had a 12.4 overnight rating on CBS, down 21% from Washington-Dallas on FOX last year (15.6) and down 19% from Panthers-Cowboys on CBS in 2015 (15.3). The 12.4 is the lowest for the Cowboys’ Thanksgiving game since 2008 against Seattle (11.4).
Later in the day, Giants-Washington had a 9.7 on NBC — down 10% from Steelers-Colts last year (10.8) and down 34% from Bears-Packers in ’15 (14.6). It is the lowest for any Thanksgiving game on broadcast television since at least 2000.
Overnights were not immediately available for the day’s first game, Vikings-Lions on FOX.
Warriors-Thunder Big For ESPN
Warriors-Thunder scored a 2.2 overnight rating on ESPN’s NBA Wednesday this week, up 144% from Spurs-Hornets last year (0.9) and the network’s best non-Christmas regular season overnight since Grizzlies-Warriors in April of last year (2.7). The Lakers-Kings nightcap had a 1.6 overnight (+60%). Final numbers will be delayed until next week due to the Thanksgiving holiday.
In other recent NBA action, ESPN scored 1.7 million viewers for Thunder-Spurs (-13%) and 1.35 million for Pelicans-Nuggets (+5%) last Friday. Last year’s comparable games were Warriors-Celtics (2.0M) and Clippers-Kings (1.28M).
NASCAR Xfinity, Truck, Finales Down
The NASCAR Xfinity Series finale from Homestead (Fla.) had a 0.76 rating and 1.2 million viewers on NBCSN last Saturday, down 10% in ratings and 11% in viewership from last year (0.84, 1.4M), and down 37% and 34% respectively from 2015 on NBC (1.21, 1.8M). The previous night’s NASCAR Truck Series finale had just 578,000 on FS1, down 5% from last year (581K) and down 11% from 2015 (647K).
[Figures from NBC Sports; ESPN; Dallas Morning News 11.24; ShowBuzz Daily 11.20, 11.21]
