At CBS and NFL Network, the “Thursday Night Football” matchup between the New York Giants and Washington Redskins averaged an 11.2 overnight household rating/19 share in Nielsen’s metered markets, which should translate into more than 16 million viewers combined on CBS and NFL Network. The first “TNF” game of the season (Pittsburgh-Baltimore) did a 13.7 overnight, and last week’s blowout Tampa Bay-Atlanta contest managed an 8.5.
The 11.2 rating is a big 87% improvement over the 6.0/11 generated for San Francisco-St. Louis a year ago when it aired on the NFL Network plus over-the-air stations in the markets involved.
CBS, of course, locked up one of some of its best same-night Thursday ratings in years. On the net’s stations from 8:30 to 11 p.m., the game did a 4.5/14 in 18-49 and 12.5 million viewers overall, with these numbers expected to rise by 15% or more once the finals (which include the NFL Network) come in.