Sorry, networks that don’t have professional football rights, NFL season is upon us.
NBC destroyed its broadcast competition on Thursday with the official kickoff to the National Football League’s regular season, which saw the Denver Broncos defeat their Super Bowl 50 rival Carolina Panthers, 21-20. The network saw the gameslip 7 percent from last year’s version, per earlier Nielsen overnight numbers.
Back in fast-national-ratings land, CBS finished a very distant second overall, with an original “Big Brother.”
NBC was first in ratings with a 8.0 rating/28 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 22 million, according to preliminary numbers. Due to the nature of live sports, however, those numbers are subject to change. Pregame show “Football Night in America” at 8 p.m. ET earned a 6.9/26 and 20 million viewers. The game itself grew from there.
CBS was second in ratings with a 1.0/4 and in viewers with 4.7 million. In between reruns, “Big Brother” at 9 p.m. ET received a 1.7/5 and 5.5 million viewers.
Telemundo was third in ratings with a 0.7/2, but fifth in viewers with 1.7 million.
ABC was fourth in ratings with a 0.6/2 and third in viewers with 3.5 million, airing all repeats.
Fox and Univision tied for fifth in ratings, both with a 0.5/2. Fox was fourth in total viewers with 2.2 million, running reruns; Univision was sixth with 1.6 million.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.2/1 and in viewers with 733,000. Following a repeat, “Beauty & the Beast” at 9 p.m. ET had a 0.2/1 and 713,000 viewers.
11 New Things to Watch for This NFL Season (Photos)
The NFL season officially kicks off on September 8. But there are a few things you need to know before the games get under way.
"Fox NFL Kickoff," hosted by Charissa Thompson (pictured), is getting a new addition: recently retired NFL cornerback Charles Tillman. They will be joined by analysts Colin Cowherd and Dave Wannstedt. The show airs each Sunday at 11 a.m. ET.
Over on CBS, there are new graphics, a facelift that was first premiered earlier this year at Super Bowl 50. The idea is to make the play easier to see on small devices. The score bar is now at the bottom of the screen.
On ESPN, Sean McDonough is the new "Monday Night Football" play-by-play guy, replacing Mike Tirico.
ESPN's "Sunday NFL Countdown" -- the network's signature NFL pregame show -- has an entirely new cast. Anchor Chris Berman (in his last season) is joined by three new ESPN analysts -- Matt Hasselbeck, Randy Moss and Charles Woodson -- plus Trent Dilfer, who is new to Sundays.
Viva Mexico! One of ESPN's biggest games of the "MNF" season will be on November 21, with a Raiders vs. Texans matchup in Mexico City. This is the NFL’s first game in Mexico in 11 years.
NBC: NFL games on Thursdays! (Well, half of "Thursday Night Football" will be on NBC. CBS has the other half.)
And where has ESPN's Mike Tirico landed? At NBC, where he will be hosting "Sunday Night Football" from game locations.
NFL: more awful Color Rush. The “Color Rush” program that started with a few games in 2015 is now a full-blown season-long event -- mainly on Thursday nights. Look for NFL teams over the course of the season to break out new and -- you guessed it, colorful -- uniforms to give the teams, and their fans, a different look.
Football for the millennials: The NFL becomes first league to have its own Snapchat Discover channel.
NFL Network has a new morning show aptly named “Good Morning Football.” This show airs live Monday-Friday at 7 a.m. ET on NFL Network. The three-hour live show is the network’s first show to originate from New York City in its 13-year history.
There are some new NFL rules to know. (1) All chop blocks are now illegal. (2) A player penalized twice in the same game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls will be automatically disqualified. (3) After a touchback resulting from a kickoff or safety kick, the ball will be placed at the receiving team’s 25-yard line. (4) In 2016, the NFL expanded the horse-collar rule to include times when a defender grabs the jersey at the name plate or above and pulls a runner toward the ground.
That's 11 new things. And here's a bonus for an even dozen: Super Bowl 51. The big game is scheduled for Feb. 5 in Houston.
