The Chargers lost to the Chiefs 38-28 on Sunday, despite being favored, and the game itself "didn't fare much better in living rooms across Southern California," according to Jay Posner of the SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. Chiefs-Chargers earned an 11.7 local rating on CBS in San Diego, which was "lower than the rating for 13 of last season's 16 games, when the Chargers averaged a 14.2 rating" in the market. In L.A., the game earned a 5.5 rating, down almost 28% from the 7.6 rating for Cowboys-Panthers "airing at the same time on Fox." From '04-16, the average season rating for local Chargers telecasts in San Diego "ranged between 24.4 (2016) and 31.6 (2010)" (SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 9/11).Meanwhile, Texans-Patriots on CBS on Sunday was the most-watched 1:00pm ET season opener in the Boston market since '02. The game delivered a 34.8 local rating in Boston, which ranks second among 17 season-opening games since '02, even beating out primetime games in that time frame (Patriots).
PROGRAMMING ERROR: In Cincinnati, Dave Clark notes many viewers "tuned into CBS on Sunday afternoon" to watch the conclusion of Steelers-Browns, but the net "had to cut off the game headed into overtime because of NFL contractual obligations." CBS "aired its postgame show instead of the rest of the game and followed it with Professional Bull Riders, and took significant flak on social media" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 9/11).
NEW TWIST: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Ken Fang wrote the latest incarnation of NFL Network's "NFL GameDay Prime" has "evolved into a late night talk show." The show has a "new host in Fox’s Charissa Thompson," who is joined by Deion Sanders, Shannon Sharpe and LaDainian Tomlinson. Instead of "each game getting full highlights, the show has reduced the time to a slickly-produced taped package featuring radio calls." Then there are "interviews between Sanders and various players." It is "not hard-hitting journalism, but it’s not meant to be." Highlights are "no longer the attraction" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 9/10).
