Even with sports ratings down, Thanksgiving traditions discouraged, a game postponed, and not a single team at .500, the NFL’s Thanksgiving games generated massive viewership.
The Washington-Dallas NFL Thanksgiving Day game averaged a 12.0 rating and 30.33 million viewers on FOX, ranking as television’s most-watched program since the Super Bowl. Washington’s win averaged more viewers than any non-NFL program since the 2017 Academy Awards (32.9M) and any non-NFL sporting event since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series (Cubs-Indians: 40.05M).
Ratings fell 11% and viewership 7% from last year on CBS (Bills-Cowboys: 13.5, 32.64M) and 4% and 1% respectively from 2018 on FOX (also Washington-Dallas: 12.5, 30.52M). It was the lowest rated and least-watched Cowboys game on Thanksgiving since 2017 against the Chargers (11.1, 26.28M).
Lower numbers could have been expected given the circumstances. While Washington and Dallas were playing for the NFC East lead, both teams entered the game an abysmal 3-7. In a year when the public was told not to engage in customary Thanksgiving celebrations, it was fair to wonder whether viewership would hold up for one of the holiday’s most venerable traditions. Finally, while the NFL has been hit less than other leagues, 30 million viewers is a high bar to meet in a year of plummeting sports viewership.
Earlier in the day, Texans-Lions averaged 23.39 million on CBS — the least-watched Thanksgiving afternoon game since 2009 (Packers-Lions: 21.99M) but still the fourth-most watched game all season (not including Sunday’s games).
The scheduled Ravens-Steelers Thanksgiving nightcap was postponed and has yet to be played. Instead, NBC aired a re-air of the National Dog Show that averaged 3.21 million (the live broadcast averaged 12.27 million earlier in the day) and a re-run of “The Wall” that had just 1.92 million. Last year’s Thanksgiving night game averaged 20.81 million.
FOX benefited from the postponement of Ravens-Steelers, averaging 11.41 million for an episode of “The Masked Singer” immediately after Washington-Dallas. “The Masked Singer” averaged a higher rating in adults 18-49 (3.5) than any non-football sporting event this year.
[Nielsen estimates from ShowBuzz Daily 12.1, Fox Sports PR]
