Bears-Packers "Thursday Night Football" Opener Marks NFL Net's Best Overnight Ever

NFL Network earned a 6.3 overnight for the Bears-Packers “Thursday Night Football” opener, marking the net’s best overnight to date. The previous record was a 6.0 overnight for 49ers-Ravens on Thanksgiving night last season. The net’s other previous top telecasts were Cowboys-Saints in ’09 (5.9 overnight) and Packers-Cowboys in ’07 (5.5 overnight). Milwaukee topped all markets with a 54.3 local rating for the Bears-Packers matchup, while Chicago finished second with a 32.6. The top five was rounded out by Richmond (10.8), New Orleans (9.9) and Denver (9.8). The telecast peaked at a 7.2 rating from 9:45-10:00pm ET (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).

WEEK ONE ROUNDUP: In Miami, Barry Jackson writes “never in at least the past decade -- probably much longer -- has a season-opening Dolphins game generated a local television rating nearly as small as the shockingly low” 13.5 local rating in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale market for the team’s matchup against the Texans. The Dolphins averaged a 17.7 local rating last season, and the 13.5 rating marked “by far the worst rating for any NFL market’s home team on opening weekend.” The Dolphins had “averaged a 20.2 rating for their previous 10 openers” (MIAMI HERALD, 9/14)....In DC, Dan Steinberg noted WTTG-Fox earned a 24.5 local rating in the DC market for the Redskins-Saints game in its early NFL window last Sunday, “down significantly” from a 30.8 rating for the team’s opener against the Giants last year, which aired in the national window (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 9/12).