For the first time all season, viewership dropped by double-digits for Thursday Night Football.
The Week 15 Cardinals/Rams Thursday Night Football game drew 7.7 million viewers on NFL Network, down 14% from Chargers/Broncos last year (8.9M), but up 41% from Bengals/Eagles in 2012 (5.5M). Viewership does not factor in local simulcasts of the game in the home markets.
The 14% decline is only the second of the season for TNF. The previous drop was a mere 0.4% decline for Chiefs/Raiders in Week 12.
The Cardinals’ win earned the third-smallest NFL audience on any network this season, ahead of only Chiefs/Raiders (7.7M) and Saints/Panthers in Week 9 (6.9M). The five least-watched games, as one could reasonably expect, have aired on NFL Network.
Among adults 18-49, TNF drew a 2.4 rating — down 27% from last year (3.3) but up 20% from 2012 (2.0).
(Thu. numbers from TV By the Numbers)
