Primetime Ratings: NBC Rolls With NFL Opener

NBC posted a noisy 8 rating in viewers 18-49, according to Nielsen’s overnights, and a 28 share. It was NFL football, of course, with the Broncos offing the Panthers in a Super Bowl rematch Thursday, that gave NBC the massive ratings.

The NFL’s opening game averaged a 16.5 household rating and 29 share in metered markets, said NBC, down a tick from last year’s Thursday opener.

Everyone else was playing for crumbs. CBS rated a 1.0/4, with Big Brother up 6% to 1.7. Repeats led in and out of Big Brother.

ABC posted a 0.6/2, Fox a 0.5/2 and The CW a 0.2/1.  

ABC had repeated game shows. Fox aired reruns of Rosewood and Bones, while CW had a rerun of DC’s Legends of Tomorrow before a fresh Beauty and the Beast at a flat 0.2.  

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.