Fox’s first “Thursday Night Football” game was a success, drawing a 10.7 rating and 19 share in Nielsen’s overnight ratings. That number counts the NFL Network’s contribution.
Last night’s Minnesota Vikings-Los Angeles Rams game was up 8 percent from last year’s equivalent game on CBS, when the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers averaged a 9.9/18 on CBS on and NFL Network.
Jared Goff’s huge game in a shootout win for L.A. was up 11 percent when compared with 2017’s “Thursday Night Football” telecast average, a 9.6/18. Those rights were split between CBS and NBC last year.
We do not yet have the ratings breakdown between Fox and NFL Network for their individual contributions last night. The vast majority of viewership happens on broadcast.
Final Nielsen numbers — including the game’s total viewers — will be available later on Friday.
Fox paid $3.3 billion for five-years’ worth of “Thursday Night Football” rights. That’s roughly $60 million per game.