NBC's Overnights Up Big For Steelers' OT Win

The NFL season begins in a grand way Thursday night with the Steelers defeating the Titans in overtime, and it is clear the American public is indeed ready for some football. NBC earns a 13.8/22.3 overnight Nielsen rating for the contest, the highest overnight for a mid-week season opener since ’03. The start of games that count highlight day two of THE DAILY’s NFL preview, but there certainly is no shortage of off-the-field news. The league’s decision to offer blacked-out games on NFL.com is a slight departure from its seemingly iron-clad stance not to adjust the current rule. However, some columnists note this is a far cry from completely lifting the statute. In other news, two panels of writers tackle topics ranging from the current labor situation to television pregame shows, and original AFL teams are seeing an uptick in merch sales due to their retro gear.

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