Primetime Ratings: ‘Thursday Night Football’ Tumbles But NBC Prevails

NBC won the night with Thursday Night Football helping the network to a 3.5 rating in adults 18-49, per Nielsen’s overnights, and a 12 share. The pre-game did a flat 2.9 and the game itself, Kansas City Chiefs versus Oakland Raiders, a 3.7, a 21% drop from last week’s game, Dallas Cowboys versus Minnesota Vikings.

CBS was a distant runner-up at 1.3/5, then ABC and Fox at 0.8/3 and The CW at 0.7/2.

After a repeat of Big Bang Theory, CBS’ The Great Indoors grew 15% to 1.5, Mom elevated 8% to 1.4, Life in Pieces was a flat 1.2 and Pure Genius grew 25% to 1.0.

ABC had Christmas specials 8-9 p.m. (Toy StoryThat Time Forgot at 0.8 and Shrek the Halls at 0.9) before The Great American Baking Show did a 0.9, down 18%, and Notorious a 0.5, down a frightening 44% in a different slot and without its usual lead in.

Fox’s Taraji’s White Hot Holidays special scored a 0.9 and Pitch a 0.8, up 14%. Last year’s Taraji and Terrence’s White Hot Holidays, featuring Empire leads Henson and Howard, rated a 1.5.

CW’s DC’s Legends of Tomorrow slipped 36% to 0.7 and Supernatural fell 14% to 0.6.  

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.