A number of blowouts and coverage of Hurricane Irma led to most NFL windows seeing a drop in viewership in Week 1. NBC led all windows with 24.4 million viewers for the Cowboys' 19-3 win over the Giants on "SNF," marking a 5% increase from last season's Patriots-Cardinals (23.1 million) opener. However, that was the lone bright spot. Fox drew 22.8 million viewers in the national window on Sunday afternoon, which featured Seahawks-Packers in 89% of markets. That number is down 17% from 27.5 million viewers last year, which featured Giants-Cowboys on Fox. CBS' singleheader window on Sunday drew 13.3 million viewers, compared to 16.0 million last year, while Fox drew 11.3 million viewers for its regional coverage Sunday, down from 15.8 million in '16. NBC also saw a decline for the Chiefs' Thursday night win over the Patriots, which drew 21.8 million viewers. That number was down 13% from 25.2 million viewers last year for Panthers-Broncos. On "MNF," Saints-Vikings drew 11.4 million viewers to open the season, down 12% from 13.0 million for the Steelers-Redskins opener in '16. The night cap, which featured Chargers-Broncos, drew 9.9 million viewers, marking a 3% decline from 10.3 million in '16 for Rams-49ers. For the "MNF" window, all 56 metered markets reported ratings in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma. Also, based on overnights, cable news and weather saw a 97% increase in that window compared to '16 due to Irma.
KICKING THINGS OFF: NFL Network earned a 7.0 overnight rating on Thursday for the first "TNF" broadcast of the season, which featured the Texans beating the Bengals 13-9. Last season's first "TNF" game, featuring Jets-Bills, aired on CBS and NFL Network, drawing an 11.4 overnight. That game also was streamed on Twitter. Ratings for six markets -- Ft. Myers, Jacksonville, Miami, Orlando, Tampa and West Palm Beach -- were delayed for Texans-Bengals due to Hurricane Irma (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor).
ON THE GO: NFL Network’s MediaCruiser made its broadcast debut during Thursday's Texans-Bengals game. Unveiled last month, the MediaCruiser is a mobile broadcast set inspired by the Dumont Telecruiser of the '40s. The MediaCruiser, similar in size to an Airstream trailer, opens into a fully operational broadcasting set. NFL Media Senior VP/Marketing Julie Haddon said creating the MediaCruiser had been in discussion for at least a couple years, but the process of “bringing it to life” began last year. She said the MediaCruiser will serve as an additional on-site set along with NFL Network’s on-field set during pre- and postgame coverage for “TNF” (Joe Perez, Assistant Editor).
COACH'S CORNER: The reviews of Rex Ryan's "MNF" debut continue to roll in. In San Diego, Tom Krasovic noted Ryan was his "outspoken self" during Chargers-Broncos, and the game "felt less like another NFL commercial, thanks to Ryan's informed candor." There were "awkward moments" for Ryan, and the game "got ahead of him now and again." However, Ryan overall "provided a net gain." He put the audience "inside an NFL team's film room, yet was mercifully spare in the numbing jargon of the trade" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/14). However, in Las Vegas, Alan Snel wrote Ryan needs to be cut "immediately," as his commentary during Chargers-Broncos "was lame." A "drowsy-sounding, low-key" Ryan during the first half "sounded like he consumed too much Sominex." By comparison, CBS' Tony Romo "sounded like the president of the local Mensa club" during his first game (LVSPORTSBIZ.com, 9/12).
