Polls regularly show that American football is the most popular sport in the United States, a factor that has pushed revenue from television deals to record levels, with the NFL generating an estimated $7.3 billion last season alone.
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UPDATE, 8:40 AM: The second season debut of Thursday Night Football on CBS was steady with its 2014 premiere in metered market ratings and pretty much the same in fast nationals.
CBS was first in ratings with a 5.0 rating/17 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 15.2 million, according to preliminary numbers. That number was up 4 percent from last year’s Pittsburgh-Baltimore game, previously the highest-rated Thursday game.
During primetime, the Denver-Kansas City game drew a 12.9/23, similar to last year’s game.
The silver then went to NBC (4.384 million viewers, #2; adults 18-49: 1.2, #2) with a special two-hour “The Biggest Loser” (4.575 million viewers, #3; adults 18-49: 1.3, #3) alongside a repeat of “The Mysteries of Laura” (4.001 million viewers, #4; adults 18-49: 0.8, #4). Only NBC aired originals, plugging in specials Jeff Dunham: Unhinged in Hollywood and Mat Franco’s Got Magic. A down-to-the-wire 31-24 win by Peyton Manning and the boys over their AFC West rivals in the Chiefs’ house was pretty compelling television.
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Broncos linebacker Von Miller celebrates Bradley Roby’s game-winning touchdown against the Chiefs.
