But Texans-Chiefs still tops 20 million viewers according to Nielsen’s Total Audience Delivery
(Updated Friday, Sept. 11, 2020 at 12:38 p.m. PT to include the recently released Total Audience Delivery ratings for the 2020 NFL Kickoff Game, Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs.)
The overall audience for NBC’s 2020 NFL Kickoff Game dropped 11% from last year, according to Nielsen’s preliminary Total Audience Delivery (TAD) metric, but Texans-Chiefs still topped 20 million viewers.
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We’re calling these TAD numbers “preliminary” because they do not include Out of Home (OOH) viewing yet. That will be added in next week, though due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, 2020’s OOH addition will likely be lighter than in the past.
Also Read: Brave or Stupid? How CBS and ABC's Originals Held Up Against NFL Kickoff Game
Across NBC TV, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms, the Houston Texans unsuccessful visit to Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium averaged 20.3 million viewers. On NBC alone, 19.3 million people tuned in.
By the fourth quarter, last night’s game was pretty much decided. The Chiefs eventually won at home, 34-20.
The 2019 start to the NFL regular season, the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears, drew 22.7 million viewers, according to to Nielsen’s TAD. That 10-3 road win for the Packers was obviously a lower scoring — but closer — affair.
Also Read: With College Football Diluted and Broadcast Shows Delayed, TV's Fall Season Rides on the NFL
Previously, with just Nielsen’s fast-affiliate TV ratings in the books:
Football is back — but perhaps not in as big a way as you might imagine.
Thursday’s 2020 NFL Kickoff Game on NBC shed 16% of the regular-season start’s audience from 2019, according to the earliest-available Nielsen numbers. The below ratings are subject to significant adjustment when time zones are properly accounted for. We’ll get those numbers later today.
Still, NBC easily won the night with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. Houston Texans game, which was up against the “Holey Moley” Season 2 finale on ABC and new episodes of CBS’ “Big Brother” and “Love Island.”
Also Read: Here Are the Premiere Dates for Broadcast TV's New and Returning Fall Shows (Updating)
NBC was first in ratings with a 5.2 rating/29 share in the advertiser-coveted 18-49 demographic and in total viewers with an average of 16.4 million, according to preliminary numbers, which include both the 2020 NFL Kickoff Game and its pre-show.
CBS was second in ratings with a 0.6/3 and in viewers with 2.5 million. At 8 p.m., “Big Brother” earned a 1.0/6 and 3.9 million viewers. “Love Island” at 9 got a 0.4/2 and 1.7 million viewers. A drama repeat followed.
Univision was third in ratings with a 0.4/2 and fourth in viewers with 1.3 million.
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ABC, Fox and Telemundo tied for fourth in ratings, each with a 0.3 rating. ABC had a 2 share and was third in total viewers with 2.1 million. Fox, which aired only reruns, received a 1 share and was fifth in viewers with 1.14 million. Telemundo got a 2 share and was sixth in total viewers with 1.11 million.
For ABC, the “Holey Moley” Season 2 finale at 8 received a 0.4/2 and 2.9 million viewers. At 9, Part 1 of the “Holey Moley” special “Unhinged” managed a 0.3/2 and 1.7 million viewers. At 10, ABC News’ “Shark Attack: The Paige Winter Story with Robin Roberts” ended the night with a 0.3/1 and 1.7 million viewers.
The CW was seventh in ratings with a 0.1/1 and in viewers with 752,000. At 8, a new episode of “Mysteries Decoded” settled for a 0.1/1 and 821,000 viewers. Back-to-back reruns of “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” followed.
How 22 Movies and TV Shows Portrayed 9/11 (Photos)
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Saturday marks 20 years since 9/11, and Hollywood has struggled all that time with how to address it. Here's how 22 films and TV shows tried to tell stories tied to Sept. 11, 2001.
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Comedy Central
"South Park" (2001)
The first episode of the always topical dark comedy to air after 9/11 revolved around America's invasion of Afghanistan.
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NBC
"The West Wing" (2001)
Creator and showrunner Aaron Sorkin wrote this special episode, about a fictional terrorist attack, and it aired just three weeks after the attacks.
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NBC
"Law & Order"
The 9/11 attacks occurred during Season 12 of the long-running drama, and several later episodes revolved around it, including one episode where a woman's remains were dumped at Ground Zero in order to cover up a murder.
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Fox
"24" (2001)
Shot a few months before the attacks, the Fox spy thriller became more timely and relevant than it ever intended to be.
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NBC
"Third Watch" (2001)
This drama about New York City's first responders remembered 9/11 with a non-fiction episode, followed by two episodes putting its main characters directly in the aftermath of 9/11.
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Disney
"25th Hour" (2002)
Spike Lee's drama, featuring a pivotal scene within sight of Ground Zero, was the first major film to confront 9/11. It premiered in December 2002.
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FX
"Rescue Me" (2004)
The Dennis Leary dramedy focuses on a firefighter who lost his best friend in the 9/11 attacks. The events of that day would reverberate through the entire series.
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Disney Channel
"Tiger Cruise" (2004)
This Disney Channel original movie saw Hayden Panettiere's character dealing with the events of 9/11 as they happened, while on a cruise with military members and their families.
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Universal
"United 93" (2006)
Paul Greengrass took a straight, fact-based approach to tell the story of the passengers who tried to take back the plane.
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Paramount
"World Trade Center" (2006)
Oliver Stone's drama portrayed the events of 9/11 from the perspective of first responders.
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Sony
"Reign Over Me" (2007)
Adam Sandler played a man struggling five years after the 9/11 attacks killed his wife and daughter.
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Vivendi
"Postal" (2007)
Uew Boll's crass comedy opened with a scene joking about fictional 9/11 hijackers - suggesting that they flew into the North Tower of the World Trade Center by accident.
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New Line
"Harold & Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay" (2008)
The comedy threequel followed the best friends as they're detained and sent to Guantanamo Bay, after a paranoid fellow plane passenger mistakes Kumar's bong for a bomb.
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Fox
"Fringe" (2009)
The season one finale of the sci-fi drama featured an alternate world, where the 9/11 attacks hit the White House instead of the Twin Towers.
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Sony
"Julie and Julia" (2009)
Set in 2002, Amy Adams' character Julie starts cooking as a way to get away from her stressful day job of fielding calls from 9/11 victims during the rebuilding of the World Trade Center.
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Summit
"Remember Me" (2010)
The Robert Pattinson drama had a twist ending that culminated in the 9/11 attacks. Many people found it an odd fit.
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Sony
"Dear John" (2010)
This Nicholas Sparks adaptation starring Channing Tatum and Amanda Seyfried featured flashbacks that saw one character re-enlist in the army due to the 9/11 attacks.
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Warner Bros
"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close" (2011)
Stephen Daldry's adaptation of the Jonathan Safron Foer novel followed a kid who lost his father in the 9/11 attacks.
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Showtime
"Homeland" (2011)
Set in a distinctly post-9/11 world, the series started off mirroring the themes of paranoia and terrorist threats present in the US in the years following the attacks.
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IFC Films
"The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (2012)
Mira Nair's thriller is based on Mohsin Hamid's novel about a Pakistani man (Riz Ahmed) who's a rising star on Wall Street until 9/11 upends both his career and his personal life as he becomes the subject of suspicion.
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Atlas Distribution
"9/11" (2017)
Charlie Sheen, Gina Gershon and Whoopi Goldberg star in a flawed adaptation of a play called "Elevator" about people trapped in the World Trade Center that fateful day, but it never becomes the tacky exploitation exercise that you might expect.
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Hulu
"The Looming Tower" (2018)
The Jeff Daniels-led Hulu miniseries spent much of its run depicting the events leading up to the Sept. 11 attacks, with the finale episode diving into the day itself and the immediate fallout.
From ”United 93“ to special episodes of ”The West Wing“ and ”Law & Order,“ here’s how Hollywood has portrayed the terrorist attacks on screen
Saturday marks 20 years since 9/11, and Hollywood has struggled all that time with how to address it. Here's how 22 films and TV shows tried to tell stories tied to Sept. 11, 2001.
Tony Maglio
TV Editor • tony.maglio@thewrap.com • Twitter: @tonymaglio
Jennifer Maas
TV Reporter • jennifer.maas@thewrap.com • Twitter: @jmaasaronson