Broncos-Panthers Does 16.5 HH Rating on NBC

By Michael Malone
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

The NFL’s opening game, featuring champion Denver Broncos versus the Carolina Panthers, averaged a 16.5 household rating and 29 share in metered market households, said NBC, from 8:45 p.m. until midnight.

The rating is television’s highest score in Nielsen’s metered markets, added NBC, since the Rio Olympics. The game was a rematch of last year’s Super Bowl; the Broncos held on for a 21-20 win Thursday.

But it’s down a bit from last year’s opener, when a Pittsburgh Steelers-New England Patriots telecast hit a 17.7 rating and 30 share. With huge interest surrounding Tom Brady’s Deflategate issues, that matched a 2010 rating for the highest NFL opener ever.

In Denver, last night’s game did a 46.9/74, while in Charlotte it rated a 33.2/52.

Michael Malone
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.