The Cleveland Browns’ first win in two years delivered NFL Network’s best Thursday Night Football ratings in three.
Jets-Browns scored a 5.2 rating and 8.6 million viewers on the Week 3 edition of NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football, up 18% in ratings and 15% in viewership from last year (Rams-49ers: 4.4, 7.4M) and the highest rated and most-watched exclusive game on NFL Network since Christmas 2016 (Steelers-Ravens: 6.5, 14.8M).
Among Thursday night games, it was NFL Network’s top exclusive telecast since Week 14 of the 2015 season (Vikings-Cardinals: 5.5, 8.7M).
Overall, it ranks as the 11th-most watched NFL game on NFL Network (dating back to 2006).
The Browns’ comeback win — which snapped the team’s 19-game winless streak — peaked with 10.3 million viewers from 11:30 PM ET through the conclusion.
Cleveland has played in seven NFL telecast windows this season, four in the preseason and three* in the regular season. All seven telecasts have increased over the comparable windows last year.
Thursday’s game had a 3.0 rating in adults 18-49 (+7%) and a 3.6 in adults 25-54 (+16%). Notably, despite a double-digit increase overall, ratings actually slipped in adults 18-34 (2.2, -4%).
Largest NFL Audiences on NFL Network
* Cleveland’s Week 2 loss to New Orleans aired in just 7 percent of markets on FOX. The regional split for their Week 1 tie against Pittsburgh was not available.
[Numbers from NFL PR 9.21]
