Thursday Night Football opened the broadcast portion of its schedule with a four-year high.
Eagles-Packers averaged a combined 10.5 rating and 17.62 million viewers on FOX and NFL Network Thursday night, marking Thursday Night Football’s highest rated and most-watched broadcast debut since 2015 (Broncos-Chiefs: 12.9, 21.12M).
The Eagles’ win increased 18% in ratings and 22% in viewership from last year (Vikings-Rams: 8.9, 14.45M) and 18% and 21% respectively from 2017 (Bears-Packers: 8.9, 14.61M).
Regardless of week, it ranks as the second-most watched Thursday Night Football game since Week 13 in 2016 (Cowboys-Vikings: 21.80M). Last year’s Week 13 Saints-Cowboys game holds the top spot (21.32M).
Including viewership on Fox Deportes, Amazon Prime and the FOX and NFL digital outlets, the game averaged 18.6 million.
Locally, Milwaukee averaged 46.4 rating and a 70 share and Philadelphia turned in a 31.3/51.
TNF averaged a 5.6 rating in adults 18-49, up 17% from last year and 2017 (4.8), and the highest for the season’s first simulcast since 2015 (7.5). It also had a 4.1 in adults 18-34 (+14%), the highest for the first simulcast since 2016 (Jets-Bills: 4.5).
As one would expect, TNF dominated the night on television. It scored nearly ten million more viewers than the top non-NFL show, “Young Sheldon” on CBS (8.24M), and more-than-tripled the top show in adults 18-34 and 18-49, ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy” (1.1 and 1.5).
[Nielsen estimates from NFL PR 9.27, Fox Sports PR, ShowBuzz Daily 9.27]
