Primetime Ratings: Football Down But Still Wins

CBS was the ratings winner Thursday night, as Thursday Night Football paced the network to a 2.4 rating on the night, per Nielsen’s overnight 18-49 ratings, and an 8 share. ABC scored a 1.5/5, NBC a 1.3/5, Fox a 1.0/3 and The CW a 0.3/1.

Yet Thursday Night Football was down considerably over its previous appearance on CBS two weeks before. The CBS kickoff show scored a 2.1, down from 2.3 in its last airing, then the game itself, with the Arizona Cardinals against the San Francisco 49ers, a 2.6—down 40%. The New England Patriots’ presence boosted ratings for the Sept. 22 game, while increased interest in hurricane coverage and a pair of West Coast teams in the game likely affected Oct. 6 ratings.

ABC’s Grey’s Anatomy was down 4% to a 2.3, and Notorious slipped 9% to a 1.0 before How to Get Away With Murder posted a flat 1.3.

NBC’s Superstore grew 8% to a 1.3 and The Good Place climbed 17% to a 1.4, then Chicago Med did a flat 1.3. The Blacklist grew 9% to a 1.2.

Fox’s Rosewood weighed in at 0.9, up 13%, and Pitch a flat 1.0.

CW’s iHeartRadio festival rated a 0.3, down a tenth of a point from last year’s rating.

Michael Malone

Michael Malone, senior content producer at B+C/Multichannel News, covers network programming, including entertainment, news and sports on broadcast, cable and streaming; and local broadcast television. He hosts the podcasts Busted Pilot, about what’s new in television, and Series Business, a chat with the creator of a new program, and writes the column “The Watchman.” He joined B+C in 2005. His journalism has also appeared in The New York Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Playboy and New York magazine.