Primetime Ratings: CBS Wins With ‘Thursday Night Football’

Football drove CBS to the ratings title Thursday, as a tight Patriots-Buccaneers matchup led the network to a 3.0 in viewers 18-49, and an 11 share, same as CBS did last week. In second was ABC at 1.4/5.

NFL Thursday Night Kickoff scored a 2.2 on CBS, down a tenth of a point from last week, and the game a 3.2, flat with last Thursday’s game. Tom Brady's Patriots won 19-14.

On ABC, Grey’s Anatomy fell 13% to 2.0 and the premiere of Scandal scored a 1.4, 17% better than its season finale. How to Get Away With Murder slipped 18% to 0.9.  

NBC weighed in at 1.3/5. Superstore scored a flat 1.2 and The Good Place was down a tenth of a point at 1.2. Will & Grace lost 33% for a 2.0 and Great News slipped 23% to 1.0. Chicago Fire dropped 20% to 1.2.

Fox did a 0.9/3, with Gotham and The Orville both at 0.9. Gotham was up 13% and The Orville was down 18%.

Telemundo was at 0.7/3, with Sin Senos Sí Hay Paraíso at 0.7 and El Señor de los Cielos at 0.9.

Univision scored a 0.4/1, as Mi Marido Tiene Familia scored a 0.5.

The CW was at 0.2/1, with repeats of Supernatural and Arrow.

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.