With the 1-4 Chargers on the schedule, Thursday Night Football did better than one might have thought.
The Week 6 Broncos/Chargers Thursday Night Football game had a 9.9 overnight rating on CBS and NFL Network, down 5% from Falcons/Saints last year (10.4) and down 12% from Colts/Texans in 2014 (11.2). The 9.9 is the lowest for TNF in Week 6 of the season since 2013, when Giants/Bears had a 7.2 on NFL Network and local affiliates.
The Chargers’ upset win was the third of four TNF simulcasts on CBS this season to hit a multi-year low in the metered markets.
The 9.9 is also the fourth-lowest ever for a TNF simulcast on CBS (21 telecasts dating back to 2014), behind Cardinals/49ers the previous week (8.8), Chargers/49ers in Week 16 of the 2014 season (8.9) and Buccaneers/Falcons in Week 3 in 2014 (8.5).
Despite the weak performance, the game should at least avoid the near record-low figures generated by the aforementioned Cardinals/49ers game, which ranks among the lowest rated primetime NFL telecasts ever on a broadcast network.
Thursday’s game faced lighter MLB playoff competition than last year, as the competing Dodgers/Nationals Game 5 had a 3.8 overnight on Fox Sports 1 — down from a 5.8 for Mets/Dodgers Game 5 on TBS a year ago.
(Thu. numbers via Sports Business Daily 10/14)
