A close, high-scoring game involving the Dallas Cowboys unsurprisingly lifted Thursday Night Football to its largest Amazon-era audience.
The latest edition of NFL Thursday Night Football (Seahawks-Cowboys) averaged a 7.3 rating and 15.26 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video, marking the highest rated and most-watched TNF game since the series moved to Prime last year. The previous highs were a 7.1 and 15.05 million for Vikings-Eagles in week two of this season. Five TNF games this season have averaged more viewers than last year’s high, 13.03 million for Amazon’s debut telecast (Chargers-Chiefs).
The Cowboys’ high-scoring win, which peaked with 17.76 million viewers, increased 50% in ratings and 53% in viewership from Bills-Patriots in Week 13 last year (4.9, 9.97M). All 11 TNF games this season have posted a double-digit increase in viewership over last year.
By comparison, the Cowboys’ lone TNF appearance last season — in Week 17 against the Titans — averaged a 4.5 and 9.73 million.
It bears noting that Thursday Night Football regularly topped the 15 million mark in its previous era, when games were simulcast on over-the-air broadcast television and NFL Network. The final game of that arrangement, Chiefs-Chargers on FOX and NFL Network in Week 15 of the 2021 season, averaged in the neighborhood of 18 million viewers.
TNF is now averaging 12.58 million viewers this season, a figure that excludes the Black Friday Jets-Dolphins game (9.61M) — up 29% from the same point of last season (9.74M). Viewership is up a more modest 17% in adults 18-34 (to 2.61M) and 21% in adults 18-49 (5.93M).
