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Panthers-Broncos Overnight Down 7% For NBC, But Still Strong For NFL Kickoff

NBC drew a 16.5 overnight rating for the Broncos' come-from-behind 21-20 win over the Panthers on Thursday night, down 7% from last year's NFL Kickoff game, but still tied for the fifth-best overnight for the game since it began in '02. Last year's Steelers-Patriots game tied for the best NFL Kickoff overnight with a 17.7 overnight, while the '14 Packers-Seahawks matchup drew a 16.8 overnight. Panthers-Broncos is tied with the '12 Cowboys-Giants matchup, which had to air on a Wednesday night due to a conflict with the Democratic National Convention. NBC will still get a primetime win with the Panthers-Broncos matchup. Denver led all markets last night with a 46.9 local rating, followed by Charlotte with a 33.2. Streaming numbers for the NBC Sports app were unavailable at presstime (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).

NFL KICKOFF OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND
YEAR
MATCHUP
NETWORK
RATING
'16
Panthers-Broncos
NBC
16.5
'15
Steelers-Patriots
NBC
17.7
'14
Packers-Seahawks
NBC
16.8
'13
Ravens-Broncos
NBC
16.2
'12
Cowboys-Giants*
NBC
16.5
'11
Saints-Packers
NBC
17.2
'10
Vikings-Saints
NBC
17.7
'09
Titans-Steelers
NBC
13.8
'08
Redskins-Giants**
NBC
10.1
'07
Saints-Colts
NBC
13.0
'06
Dolphins-Steelers
NBC
13.5
'05
Raiders-Patriots
ABC
13.1
'04
Colts-Patriots
ABC
12.6
'03
Jets-Redskins
ABC
14.5
'02
49ers-Giants
ESPN
12.7
       

CHART NOTES: * = Game aired on a Wednesday night due to DNC. ** = Game aired on a Thursday, but began at 7:00pm ET to accommodate RNC.

GOOD NIGHT IN THE BOOTH: The Charlotte Observer's Mike Persinger wrote on Twitter NBC's Al Michaels has a "great point ... about depth of Cam Newton's drops." Persinger: "Not as deep as Super Bowl, helps Mike Remmers immensely." The MMQB's Peter King added of Cris Collinsworth, "Good job pointing out Cam’s drop depth is less than in SB." Pittsburgh-based reporter John Steigerwald: "Al Michaels is pretty good for a really old guy. Actually, there's nobody better right now." Meanwhile, Domonique Foxworth, a former NFLer and current writer for The Undefeated, wrote, "Do ppl really hate Collinsworth? I thinks he's knowledgeable and better than his contemporaries. ... Collinsworth out giving y'all gems. And you don't even appreciate it. Seriously listen to other color guys" (TWITTER.com, 9/8).

SUNDAY, MUDDY SUNDAY: VARIETY's Daniel Holloway wrote "SNF" is likely to finish the '16-17 TV season as the most-watched primetime show for the sixth straight year, "tying 'American Idol' for the most consecutive ratings crowns in TV history." The streak is a "testament to the growing power of live sports at a time when viewing habits are evolving at a pace few in the industry anticipated." However, the changes "that made the current TV landscape fertile ground for the rise of 'Sunday Night Football' are beginning to create uncertainties for sports broadcasters." Digital viewing is "placing new pressures on sports broadcasters, who are struggling to adapt." NBC has the streaming rights for “SNF,” which will "allow it to continue to monetize the franchise’s viewers as they migrate to non-linear platforms." However, the net this year "joins a multi-network 'Thursday Night Football' package that splits rights between NBC, CBS, NFL Network and Twitter, and at first glance looks perfectly designed to confuse viewers" (VARIETY.com, 9/8).

NEW LANDING SPOTS: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Ian Casselberry reported former Fox NFL analyst Tony Siragusa has partnered with Yahoo Sports and "will host a weekly video series." Siragusa's "In the Trenches" series will be filmed in N.Y., and he will "tell stories from his 12-year NFL career and his time as a broadcaster." He also will provide "commentary on various rules, player rituals and pertinent issues in the league" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 9/8). Meanwhile, SPORTING NEWS' Michael McCarthy reported former ESPN NFL analyst Cris Carter is "teaming with Twitter to provide live commentary via Periscope" for each "TNF" game this season. He will "go live @criscarter80 and Periscope roughly 90 minutes before each TNF game, at halftime and right after the game ends." The deal will allow Carter to "pursue other broadcast TV gigs" (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 9/7).

THE NEW PHILLY FANATIC? In Philadelphia, Rob Tornoe noted former NFLer Brian Westbrook will join WPEN-FM's Devon Givens and Michael Bradley for the station's Eagles pregame show each week, which begins "three hours before" kickoff. Westbrook, who claimed last month he "'was fired' from his role as an Eagles analyst" on CSN Philadelphia's weekly postgame show, has been a "regular contributor" to WPEN since '08 (PHILLY.com, 9/8).

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