A record-low last year helped Thursday Night Football to a massive increase this year.
Chiefs-Broncos averaged an 8.3 rating and 13.68 million viewers on FOX and NFL Network Thursday night, up 48% in ratings and 50% in viewership from Broncos-Cardinals last year, the lowest rated and least-watched primetime NFL game ever on broadcast television (5.6, 9.2M).
Versus Chiefs-Raiders on CBS and NFL Network two years ago, ratings fell 3% and viewership 5% from an 8.6 and 14.38 million.
All four Thursday Night Football games on FOX this season have increased over last year. Including Sunday games, FOX has scored increases for 11 of its 13 windows thus far.
Even with the big increase, Kansas City’s blowout win ranks as the lowest rated and least-watched primetime NFL game on broadcast this season.
Including the streaming audience on Amazon Prime, Twitch, Yahoo! Sports and the FOX and NFL digital platforms, Thursday’s game averaged 14.4 million (+52%). Across all platforms, the Thursday Night Football simulcasts are now averaging 16.3 million (+21%).
TNF had a 4.2 rating in adults 18-49 (+50%) and a 3.1 in adults 18-34 (+41%).
As is typical, Chiefs-Broncos more-than-doubled the competing Astros-Yankees American League Championship Series game, which aired on FOX cable sibling FS1 (3.5, 5.86M). It also dominated the night’s most-watched entertainment show (“Young Sheldon”: 7.94M), and the top show in adults 18-34 and 18-49 (“Grey’s Anatomy”: 0.8 and 1.2).
[Nielsen estimates from NFL Communications 10.18, Programming Insider 10.18]
