CBS had its first "TNF" game of '17 on Thursday, combining with NFL Network to draw an 9.9 overnight rating for Bears-Packers, which is even with the nets' average for a five-game slate last season. The "TNF" game in Week 3 last year aired exclusively on NFL Network (Dolphins-Bengals). Two years ago, when CBS and NFL Net aired Ravens-Steelers in Week 4, the nets drew a 13.0 overnight for the overtime game. In '14, CBS and NFL Net drew an 11.2 overnight for Giants-Redskins. CBS and NFL Net last season did air Bears-Packers as part of "TNF," with that Week 7 matchup drawing a 9.3 overnight. Thursday night's game gave CBS a primetime win among all networks. The game peaked at an 11.3 overnight from 9:00-9:15pm ET, just below a 47-minute delay due to weather. Thursday night also marked the debut of Amazon Prime as the streaming service for select "TNF" games (Austin Karp, Assistant Managing Editor).
SEARCHING FOR ANSWERS: ESPN's Mike Golic discussed why NFL viewership is down through the season's first three weeks and said, "I don't think there's any doubt that we see people burning their season tickets and it is having an effect." Golic: "You have this crowd and you do something that some feel is divisive and some don't like it, so they step away." ESPN’s Mike Greenberg said ratings were "going to start to go down because of people's television viewing habits." Greenberg: "Younger people are consuming things in totally different ways, and that was always going to have an impact here. Do I think that this piece of it is a factor? Yes. How much, I don't know." He suggested the "most direct cause and effect we might see immediately is how many are taking DirecTV up on the offer to get their money back on the Sunday Ticket package." Greenberg: "That it would seem to be an obvious direct effect. If that’s hundreds of people, that is one thing. If it turns out to be tens of thousands, then that’s something else." ESPN's Adam Schefter said, "The league faces various crises all the time. This feels different than any other. There are certain storylines that shadow and color the entire season, like BountyGate and domestic violence. The domestic violence had its own feel. This is entirely different. ... Everyone has a different stance" (“Mike & Mike,” ESPN Radio, 9/28).
MORNING GLORY: MEDIUM's John Gorman wrote NFL Network's "Good Morning Football" is the "best morning sports talk show on television because it refuses to act like one." The show, which debuted in August '16, is a "blast" and "defiantly wonderful." The show's main cast "consists of Kay Adams, Nate Burleson, Peter Schrager and Kyle Brandt -- perhaps the oddest collection of TV talent ever assembled on purpose." Adams is the "de facto host, a multilingual broadcasting phenom with an effortless polish." Burleson is a "natural on television," while Schrager "communicates the inside scoops and the inner-workings of the NFL and his profession is an endearing peek behind a curtain that often feels impenetrable." Brandt is a "live-wire, a runaway train of 90’s trivia, boundless enthusiasm, and manic comedic energy." Gorman: "Kudos for the unexpected success of the show must be passed out to the producers and writers, to the extent that they’re involved in creating the silly, surreal segments that have become the hallmark of the show" (MEDIUM.com, 9/25).
