Primetime Ratings: NBC Wins But Football Falls

NBC was top of the broadcast charts Thursday, the network posting a 2.6 in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen’s overnights, and a 9 share. But pigskin lacked power. Thursday Night Football’s pre-game show did a 2.2 while the game, Seattle Seahawks versus Los Angeles Rams, scored a 2.7. That was down 24% and 27%, respectively from last week’s Kansas City Chiefs versus Oakland Raiders matchup on NBC.

Having two West Coast teams and a lopsided score did not help TNF.

Last Thursday’s game showed a 21% drop from the previous Thursday Night Football.

CBS was runner-up at 1.6/6. Big Bang Theory grew 6% to 3.3, The Great Indoors climbed 13% to 1.7, Mom jumped 7% to 1.5 and Life in Pieces was a flat 1.3. Pure Genius was down a tenth at 0.9.

On ABC, Disney Prep and Landing scored a 0.8 and Great American Baking Show a 0.8, down a tenth of a point before What Would You Do? premiered to a 0.7. That spelled a 0.8/3 for ABC.

Fox aired repeats for a 0.5/2.

CW had the iHeartRadio Jingle Ball at 0.4, as the network posted a 0.4/1 for the night.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone is content director at B+C and Multichannel News. He joined B+C in 2005 and has covered network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television, including writing the "Local News Close-Up" market profiles. He also hosted the podcasts "Busted Pilot" and "Series Business." His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The L.A. Times, The Boston Globe and New York magazine.