2012 "THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" SCHEDULE SETS RATING & VIEWERSHIP RECORDS FOR NFL NETWORK
Expanded 13-game schedule produces most-watched season
for Thursday Night Football with an average of 7.3 million viewers
Season rating up 8% vs. 2011 for the #1 Thursday program on cable this Fall
NFL Network's expanded schedule of Thursday Night Football broadcasts set rating and viewership records for the network in 2012. Including the audience from over-the-air broadcasts in local markets, Thursday Night Football finished with a record-high per game average audience of 7.3 million viewers in 2012, marking the fourth consecutive year that Thursday Night Football has set an all-time high viewership mark for NFL Network.
For the season, Thursday Night Football on NFL Network averaged a 4.6 US HH rating (including OTA's), another record for the network. The 4.6 US HH rating represents an 8% increase from the 2011 season. Each week of the 2012 Thursday Night Football schedule, NFL Network's game telecast was the day's most-watched program on cable television.
The Thursday Night Football opener in Week Two between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers delivered the highest Thursday Night Football audience of 2012 with 10.8 million viewers. The Bears-Packers opener is the fourth most-watched Thursday Night Football game in NFL Network's history with the 2011 Thanksgiving Night game between the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens still holding the top mark with 12.3 million viewers.
All Thursday Night Football games were streamed live on NFL Mobile from Verizon with complementary online coverage via NFL.com/LIVE Thursday Night Football.
Thursday Night Football on NFL Network was first broadcast in 2006.
(Source: Nielsen Media Research, Live + Same Day viewing)
About NFL Network's 2012 Thursday Night Football
Play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler and Emmy-nominated analyst Mike Mayock returned to the Thursday Night Football broadcast booth for the second season and were joined by Alex Flanagan, in her third year as the sideline reporter.
Two hours before kickoff, NFL Network presented Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Craftsman live from the stadium starting at 6:00 PM ET. Host Rich Eisen along with Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin, and former head coach Steve Mariucci provided analysis and the latest news while reporter Stacey Dales provided pregame reports from the locker rooms, as well as interviews with players and coaches.
The Lexus Halftime Show and the Kay Jewelers Postgame Show provided additional analysis live from inside the stadium each week on Thursday Night Football.
Bollywood superstar and 2101 Records/Desi Hits!/ Interscope Records recording artist Priyanka Chopra was the featured artist for NFL Network's Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Craftsman pregame show. Priyanka's debut single "In My City,' featuring will.i.am and produced by RedOne (Lady Gaga) and Brian Kennedy, was the music bed for the intro to Thursday Night Kickoff Presented by Craftsman. For more information on Priyanka Chopra, please visit priyankachopramusic.com.
Leading in to every Thursday Night Football game, Grammy Award-winning artist Cee Lo Green sang the anthem entitled "Blitzkrieg Bop" (I Love Football), set to The Ramones' "Blitzkrieg Bop." The 90-second show open for each Thursday Night Football game featured fan-sourced videos uploaded by fans.
NFL Network 2012 Thursday Night Football Schedule
All games at 8:00 pm ET
· Week 2 - 9/13: Green Bay 23, Chicago 10
· Week 3 - 9/20: New York Giants 36, Carolina Panthers 7
· Week 4 - 9/27: Baltimore Ravens 23, Cleveland Browns 16
· Week 5 - 10/4: St. Louis Rams 17, Arizona Cardinals 3
· Week 6 - 10/11: Tennessee Titans 26, Pittsburgh Steelers 23
· Week 7 - 10/18: San Francisco 49ers 13, Seattle Seahawks 6
· Week 8 - 10/25: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 36, Minnesota Vikings 17
· Week 9 - 11/1: San Diego Chargers 31, Kansas City Chiefs 13
· Week 10 - 11/8: Indianapolis Colts 27, Jacksonville Jaguars 10
· Week 11 - 11/15: Buffalo Bills 19, Miami Dolphins 14
· Week 13 - 11/29: Atlanta Falcons 23, New Orleans Saints 13
· Week 14 - 12/6: Denver Broncos 26, Oakland Raiders 13
· Week 15 - 12/13: Cincinnati Bengals 34, Philadelphia Eagles 13
For the entire 2012 NFL schedule, visit www.NFL.com.
NFL Network broadcasts seven days a week, 24 hours a day on a year-round basis and is the only television network fully dedicated to the NFL and the sport of football. For fans on the go, all NFL Network programming is streamed live on NFL Mobile from Verizon. For more information, log on to www.nfl.com/nflnetwork. NFL.com is the exclusive internet home of NFL Network.
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