Fox and NFL Network combined for an 8.2 overnight rating for the 49ers’ 34-3 win over the Raiders on “Thursday Night Football.” Every previous Week 9 “TNF” game since the package began has aired solely on NFL Network. Despite the blowout and the teams having just two wins between them coming in, the 8.2 rating is well above the 6.6 overnight for Broncos-Cardinals “TNF” matchup in Week 6 on Fox/NFL Net, which marked the lowest-rated NFL game ever in primetime on a broadcast net. Last week, Fox/NFL Net drew a 9.2 for Dolphins-Texans (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
NO BIG DEAL: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes Fox' Joe Buck beginning Oct. 11 with Eagles-Giants "called 15 games in 18 days, working in six cities across all four time zones" in the continental U.S. But Buck "played down the grind." He said that "when he was a kid he saw his father, legendary Cardinals radio announcer Jack Buck, do something similar on a regular basis for many falls." Buck: "My dad would laugh at the suggestion that this is some crazy schedule and something that is unheard of. He did this stuff every year." Caesar notes Buck in the past "did not broadcast NFL games during his postseason baseball run." But Fox "landed the full over-the-air rights to the Thursday night NFL package this year." It was a "key property for Fox to obtain, so to keep continuity in that broadcast booth Buck undertook the demanding schedule." Buck: "I'm glad I did it. I know Fox is glad I did it" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 11/2).
