or


[09/18/15 - 07:08 AM]
"Thursday Night Football" on CBS and NFL Network Earn Best Ever Ratings
CBS spins the numbers for Thursday, September 17.

[via press release from CBS]

"THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" ON CBS AND NFL NETWORK EARN BEST EVER RATINGS

Denver-Kansas City Earns Rating/Share of 14.3/25 in Metered Markets

CBS and NFL Network's opening night broadcast of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL earned its best ever ratings with an average overnight household rating/share of 14.3/25, +4% from last year's Pittsburgh at Baltimore game on CBS and NFL Network (13.7/23; 9/11/14), in the 56 metered markets. Last year's Pittsburgh-Baltimore game was previously the highest-rated TNF broadcast.

Last night's Denver-Kansas City pregame and game coverage on CBS and NFL Network from 8:00-11:00 PM averaged a primetime household rating/share of 12.9/23, which matched the comparable premiere of CBS-NFL Network coverage for Pittsburgh-Baltimore last year (12.9/22; 9/11/14).

Last's night primetime on CBS and NFL Network beat the combined delivery of NBC, ABC and FOX by +90% (6.8/12). CBS/NFL Network's overnight rating/share of 12.9/23 in primetime beat each of the broadcast networks: +1333% better than FOX (0.9/2), +461% better than ABC (2.3/4), and +258% better than NBC (3.6/6).

Last night's game HH rating/share peaked at 15.0/30 from 11:30 PM-12:00 Midnight, ET.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL will continue next week on September 24 with Washington at N.Y. Giants.

RATINGS NOTE: CBS and NFL Network are reporting audience data for the game and related programming, the way it was sold to advertisers, as a gross rating from CBS and NFL Network.

"THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" ON CBS AND NFL NETWORK IS MOST-WATCHED AND HIGHEST-RATED EVER WITH 21.117 MILLION VIEWERS AND A RATING/SHARE OF 12.9/24

CBS and NFL Network's season debut broadcast of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL on Thursday, Sept. 17 featuring Denver-Kansas City was the most-watched and highest-rated TNF broadcast ever (Nielsen Live + Same Day fast national ratings).

Last night's game was seen by an average of 21.117 million viewers, +2% from last year's 20.777 million, and earned an average national household rating/share of 12.9/24, +2% from last year's 12.7/22 for the comparable premiere broadcast on CBS and NFL Network (Pittsburgh-Baltimore; 9/11/14).

Pittsburgh at Baltimore's TNF season opener on CBS and NFL Network last year was the previous most-watched and highest-rated TNF game.

Primetime on CBS and NFL Network last night more than doubled the combined viewership of NBC, ABC and FOX (+101%). CBS/NFL Network's viewership of 19.052 million in primetime was +1,292% better than FOX (1.369m), +563% better than ABC (2.875m) and +263% better than NBC (5.246m).

Last's night primetime on CBS and NFL Network beat the combined delivery of NBC, ABC and FOX by +84%. CBS/NFL Network's HH rating/share of 11.6/21 in primetime beat each of the broadcast networks: +1,189% better than FOX (0.9/2), +452% better than ABC (2.1/4) and +252% better than NBC (3.3/6).

Viewer average of the game peaked at 22.912 million viewers from 9:30-10:00 PM, ET and the game HH rating/share peaked at 14.2/30 from 11:30-11:53 PM, ET.

The record viewership and rating for the 2015 season opener of THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL comes on the heels of the most-watched NFL Kickoff Weekend ever, with an average of 19.9 million viewers for NFL games (Sept. 10-14), topping the average 19.6 million viewers for 2013's Kickoff Weekend.

THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL continues next week on Sept. 24 with Washington at N.Y. Giants.

RATINGS NOTE: CBS and NFL Network are reporting audience data for the game and related programming, the way it was sold to advertisers, as a gross rating from CBS and NFL Network.





  [september 2015]  
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
  


· THURSDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (AMAZON)





most recent ratings | view all posts
[10/23/26 - 03:54 PM]
ESPN's NBA Opening Wednesday Delivered Its Second-Largest Audience Ever
The Minnesota Timberwolves' victory over the Miami Heat averaged 2.52 million viewers, up 16% from last year's comparable game.

[10/23/26 - 03:25 PM]
USA Sports Delivers Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 3 Since 1999, Best Ever on Cable
1.71 million viewers on average tuned into Wednesday night's Game 3 coverage across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network and CNBC) and streaming on Peacock.

[10/23/26 - 08:30 AM]
Record College Football Viewership Propels ESPN to Second Best Start Since 2011 with "College GameDay" on Track for Most-Watched Season Ever
ESPN networks are averaging 2.2 million viewers across 120 games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPNU - the second-best start for ESPN since 2011.

[10/22/26 - 04:01 PM]
ABC News Wins Across Friday Night, Sunday Morning and Late-Night
"20/20: The Suitcase Murders" ranked as Friday's No. 1 newsmagazine in Total Viewers, Adults 25-54, and Adults 18-49.

[10/22/26 - 04:00 PM]
CBS Dominates Its Premiere Week in Seven-Day Multiplatform Viewership, Up +14% from Last Year, with Six Series Topping 10 Million Viewers
Among its broadcast competition, CBS claimed eight of the top 10 series.

[10/22/26 - 02:50 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers Most-Watched NBA Tip-Off Primetime Game Ever with 76ers-Knicks
Viewership peaked at 9.1 million - an NBA Tip-Off record - from 9:45-10:00 pm ET as the 76ers clinched the victory.

[10/22/26 - 02:00 PM]
"Dancing with the Stars" Waltzes to Season High During Heartfelt "Dedication Night" with 7.36 Million Total Viewers
The October 20 episode hit a season high with the show's best non-finale episode in six years.

[10/21/26 - 04:01 PM]
USA Sports' Coverage of Dream-Valkyries Game 2 Is Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 2 Ever on Cable
Monday night's coverage averaged 1.33 million viewers across USA Sports' linear platforms (USA Network, CNBC and E!).

[10/21/26 - 03:15 PM]
It's Back to School at "Abbott Elementary" as Show Returns with Over 6 Million Total Viewers
The premiere episode scored the show's best streaming performance since Season 4, based on views over seven days on Hulu and Hulu on Disney+.

[10/21/26 - 02:31 PM]
Commanders-49ers on "Monday Night Football" Delivers 17.9 Million Viewers
Six weeks into ESPN's Super Bowl LXI season, "Monday Night Football" is up 23% compared to the same point in 2025, averaging 19 million viewers.

[10/21/26 - 11:01 AM]
Top 10 Most-Watched Prime Original Films & Series for the Week of October 12
"Carrie," "Neagley," "Reacher," "Off Campus," and "Sterling Point" led all original series worldwide.

[10/21/26 - 06:39 AM]
NFL Network's London Slate Culminates with 6.4M Viewers for Jaguars-Texans
Season to date, through three games in London, NFL Network is averaging 6.9M viewers, up 15% vs. the network's six-game International Series average last season.

[10/21/26 - 06:30 AM]
NBC and Peacock Deliver Most-Watched WNBA Finals Game 1 Ever
Led by Gabby Williams' 26 points, Golden State's 68-64 win over Atlanta peaked at 3.0 million viewers for the game's exciting conclusion from 5:45 - 5:55 p.m. ET.

[10/20/26 - 03:19 PM]
"College GameDay Built by The Home Depot" Delivers Its Third Most-Watched Regular-Season Episode Ever from BYU
ESPN networks had 3 of the top 4 games this week, the second most-watched regular season Saturday on record (based on minutes).

[10/20/26 - 03:08 PM]
Ohio State's Win Over Indiana Scores Most-Watched College Football Game of the Week
Viewership peaked at 14,269,000 viewers from 3:30-3:45 PM ET on FOX.