After suffering its first decline of the season last week — and hitting a season-low — Thursday Night Football returned to its winning ways in Week 16.
As previously noted, the latest edition of NFL Thursday Night Football (Saints-Rams) averaged a 4.8 rating and 10.20 million viewers on Amazon Prime Video — up 22% in ratings and 23% in viewership from Jaguars-Jets last year (3.9, 8.26M).
The Rams’ win, which peaked with 11.67 million viewers, delivered the 13th increase in 14 weeks of TNF this season — the lone exception coming the prior week.
Entering its season finale next week, Thursday Night Football is now averaging 11.97 million viewers — up 25% from the same point last season (9.57M). Viewership is up a more modest 15% in adults 18-34 (2.44M) and 18% in 18-49 (5.56M), contributing to an older median age this season (48.5) than last (47).
It is likely the case that Amazon, which has drawn disproportionately well among younger viewers during its brief NFL tenure, had less room to grow in those demographics. If one assumes that younger viewers have less difficulty adjusting to streaming, it makes sense that viewership in those demographics would have been particularly pronounced in year one, before falling back (relatively) as other demographics begin habituating toward streaming in year two.
It may also be the case that older viewers, who largely sustain broadcast television, have had fewer alternatives to TNF this season due to the Hollywood strikes that wiped out the fall television schedule.
If older than last year, the TNF audience nonetheless remains several years younger than the other NFL broadcast packages (55.4) and the rest of primetime broadcast television (62).
Viewership in female demographics is pacing ahead of the overall trend, up 31% from last year to 3.88 million.
TNF would be averaging even more viewers had Nielsen gone through with its initial plan over the summer to integrate Amazon’s internal “first-party” data. Instead, Nielsen is including that data in a separate “Integrated Live Streaming Report.” By that metric, Amazon is averaging 13.07 million for the season.
