NBC drew a 15.3 overnight rating for the Packers' 10-3 win over the Bears on Thursday night, marking the best figure for an NFL Kickoff game since Panthers-Broncos started the '16 season (16.5). Packers-Bears is up 14% from a 13.4 last year for Falcons-Eagles, which started 30 minutes later than normal due to weather delays. Two years ago, Chiefs-Patriots in the NFL Kickoff game drew a 14.6 overnight, with that game competing with heavy TV coverage of Hurricane Irma on cable news outlets. The game on Thursday night drew a 48.1 local rating in Milwaukee, while Chicago drew a 35.3 local rating. NBC got an easy win in primetime for the night (Austin Karp, THE DAILY).
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NFL KICKOFF: OVERNIGHT RATINGS TREND ON NBC
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YEAR
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MATCHUP
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RATING
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'19
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Packers-Bears
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15.3
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'18
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Falcons-Eagles
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13.4
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'17
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Chiefs-Patriots
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14.6
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'16
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Panthers-Broncos
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16.5
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'15
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Steelers-Patriots
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17.7
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GOING OLD SCHOOL: AWFUL ANNOUNCING's Andrew Bucholtz noted the "throwback approach" of the NFL 100 efforts "translated to the NBC broadcast booth" on Thursday night. Al Michaels and Cris Collinsworth "appeared in old-school hats with 'Press' tucked into the bands." While it "wasn't the patented Collinsworth Slide, this was still an interesting broadcast intro, and another effort to show off the NFL's history" (AWFULANNOUNCING.com, 9/5).
MOVING UP: In Chicago, Jeff Agrest notes if fans "looked at the list of Fox broadcast crews that called Bears games last season," they "might have thought the Bears finished 7-9, not 12-4." That is because Fox "didn't assign a crew higher than fourth on its depth chart to a Bears game until Week 13." The Bears "figure to rate higher on Fox's priority list this season." The owners of the NFC package "already have their top crew set to call Bears-Lions on Thanksgiving Day and Cowboys-Bears the next Thursday night." Fans "should see more of the first and second crews" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 9/6).
OLD FRIENDS: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes there will be a "heavy dose of Rams and Chiefs on St. Louis television early in the NFL season." The local TV schedule has been set for the first two weeks, and those teams "will be on each time." KTVI-Fox GM Kurt Krueger said the station "will certainly look at the Rams." Despite "massive grumbling in St. Louis about the team's success last season," locals "watched the team in droves" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 9/6).
