The
start of the 2011 NFL season helped NBC grab the ratings victory Thursday
night, with an overall 9.5 rating/26 share in the 18-49 demo, according to
Nielsen overnight numbers.
The season-opening game between the New Orleans
Saints and the Green Bay Packers drew a 10.2 from 8:30-11 p.m. It drew a 17.2 overnight
rating in total viewers, down 3% from last season's opener. (Due to the nature
of live sports, ratings are likely to be adjusted.) NBC's pregame show, which
because of President Obama's jobs speech began at 7 p.m. on its
cable nets before NBC joined at around 8 p.m., drew
a 6.4.
CBS
came in second with a 1.7/4. Big Brother fell 29% to a 2.4, and the
network's fall preview special scored a 1.6 in the 8:30 p.m. slot.
ABC
scored an overall 1.2/3. The two-hour Rookie Blue season finale drew a
1.1 from 9-11 p.m., down
31% from last week's one-hour episode.
Fox
(0.9/2) and The CW (0.3/1) aired repeats.
