Ratings: NFL Kickoff Game Down 12% vs. 2019, Holey Moley Dips With Finale
In the latest TV ratings, NBC Sunday Night Football‘s Thursday-night NFL kickoff game between the Chiefs and Texans averaged 19.3 million total viewers (per finals), down 12 percent from last year’s Packers/Bears match-up (which marked a three-year high).
With digital viewing folded in, the game’s Total Audience Delivery (20.3 mil) is down 11 percent from 2019.
Among regularly scheduled Thursday fare, CBS’ Big Brother (3.9 mil/1.0) dipped week-to-week but led the pack; lead-out Love Island (1.7 mil/0.4) was also steady.
ABC’s Holey Moley (2.9 mil/0.4) matched and hit season lows with its sophomore finale, while a programming hole-filling recap special (Rob Riggle’s words, not mine!) did 1.7 mil/0.3. A harrowing/cool/inspirational special about shark attack survivor Paige Winters then drew 1.7 mil and a 0.3.
Lastly, The CW’s Mysteries Decoded (821K/0.1) was steady.
The Live+Same Day Nielsen numbers reported in our ratings column do not reflect a show’s overall performance, given the increased use of delayed playback via DVR and and streaming platforms. These numbers instead are reported simply to illustrate any trends or superlatives. Kids, ask parents before calling.
Want scoop on any of the above shows? Email InsideLine@tvline.com and your question may be answered via Matt’s Inside Line.
THE NFL IS GOING TO PAY FOR THEIR ANTI-AMERICAN PROPAGANDA AND ITS ALREADY SHOWING WITH LAST YEAR SUPER BOWL CHAMPS, WHO ALSO GOT BOOED BY FANS, BAHAHAHA BAHAHAHA
I agree, they don’t deserve our viewership.
Agreed. People want to watch sports as an entertaining escape, and all of these protests and in your face statements, BLM pasted all overything, are turning viewers of all sports off, basketball, baseball, now football. Good luck, NFL, trying to replace your long-loyal viewers, maybe the antifa kids will watch on their phones in between throwing rocks at police.
Yeah for real. Civil rights are an atrocious thing to fight for. History will remember this.
God, some of you people are the worst.
Yeah they are really fighting for civil rights there in the field. They are so brave. She then when they are done collecting those huge checks they fight for those civil rights in their gated community. Those players are real heroes.
Who’s civil rights……….the people who had their businesses burnt to the ground?
NONE of the factual data points to systemic racism as claimed by NFL/BLM. We should celebrate how far we have come as a country (supported by the data). Instead, NFL wants tear the country apart by endorsing an alternative National Anthem. Football used to bring people together; now the NFL desperately tries to tear us apart. Sad
How about every song you listen to on the radio is preceded by a BLM message. How about every show has a big fat streamer in the middle about nothing but BLM garbage? The point here is that people watch sports TO SEE SPORTS! The listen to music to HEAR MUSIC! They go to restaurants TO EAT FOOD! People don’t tune in to the NFL to see social justice garbage.
I’m done with ALL pro sports! Talk about a racial divide and making it worse!!! They can all kiss my AMERICA loving arse! 😁
Totally Agree !!!!!! Well said
I’m through watching sports on tv, stopped a while back. I love the USA and don’t need to watch overpaid brats chase a ball. I will probably cut cable soon. I don’t need their garbage anymore.
Done with BLM bigotry with no responsibility for a failed lawless culture ! Bye NFL
Agree completely!
All Sports should about sports not politics!
Our flag represents millions who respect and love this country.
Those who died of all races, fighting for one nation under God.
Kneeling is a slap in the face
Shameful!
It is about Respect
Respect our Flag
Respect Authority
Respect those who gave their lives, and their families who died for your freedom!! Until then, bye sports.
Never will watch spoiled brat millionaires play with their balls while spitting on our flag. Plan to cut cable.
Except this game was played on the national (free) network.
Not cable.
Damn, y’all are stupid.
(Also, last year was a 3-year high and a closer contest between juicy rivals. But details!)
The world champs got booed on their home field. (but details). Shouldn’t that tell you something?
The TV audience (the audience getting measured here, not some fairweathers) grew after that, then nosedived at 10 pm. But go on, this is super entertaining.
Politics doesn’t belong in sports. If it continues then more and more people will entertain themselves some other way. If you don’t think KC vs Houston is not a juicy match-up then you have no business commenting on the NFL.
Nobody but the population of KC cares about them. SB champs or not.
The Texans are always second-fiddle to the Cowboys and nobody but Houston cares about them either.
Civil rights are not politics. Exactly which part of freedom don’t you like? Because freedom with restrictions (I.e., those players shouldn’t bring attention to civil rights issues which is really what you are saying) is not, in fact, freedom.
If you watch/listen to videos posted by fans who were actually there instead of relying on strategically placed mics, you’ll hear that they’re actually yelling “Chieeeeefs”…but details. None of the players or coaches heard people booing and just taking the word of our very unbiased media…but details…
You’re the one that is stupid!
I watch TV Over the Air and I turned to another channel. I used to watch the NFL but no longer!
Yea, being told what I am because of my skin color is a great way to pick a fight. Something that BLM is suppose to be fighting, we’re not all racist. Count me out on TV and cable sports, I’m out.
Except the NFL get ad revenue for every ad aired during a game. So… if you boycott then they LOSE money… so… sorry seems like stupid is once again back in your court.
THERE WAS A GAME LAST NIGHT I SAID I QUIT WATCHING AND I DID IM NOT WATCHING ANY SPORT SUPPORTING COMMUNIST ,TERRORIST ORGANIZATIONS
Imagine that? People don’t like it when pampered millionaires who play a child’s game bad mouth America and pay respect to a rapist?
Who could have seen that coming. Not NBC or the NFL head office?
Good luck getting those viewers back guys.
BLM is a terrorist organization there history
Trump was at the game??
How did they bad mouth America?
You are all going to be dragged kicking and screaming until this place is equitable for all.
I feel sorry for you that don’t understand what is really being fought for.
A traffic stop should not cost you your life. Someone sleeping in their bed should not have been massacred in her own home.
17 Million people watching is still a huge amount of viewers. The league is not in any danger of losing viewers. Sorry.
I am all for trying, but unfortunately, equality will never completely exist in humans. It is part of human nature. Just look at Middle East, India, Asia. Centuries of discrimination for different members of society based on religion, color, cast, socioeconomic status, etc. The older the civilization, the more rigid the cast system. The US, being so young, is by far the most fluid system in the world to change your status from one generation to the next. Those of us who immigrated to the US realize that, and that is why we are here. That being said, can’t we just watch football (which is supposed to be a unifier) without getting dragged into some family squabble about race? That’s like coming to Thanksgiving dinner (which is supposed to be enjoyable) and listening to two uncles argue about something bad that one uncle did years ago, and the other uncle won’t let it go even though first uncle had tried to make amends and is continuing to do so. I personally would go eat somewhere else. I see both sides of every issue, but It is just plain rude to ruin dinner over something I already know about and simply want to avoid while watching a game. If the NFL really wanted to make a change, they should directly invest monies wasted on slogans and the salaries of players, coaches, and owners, into job training programs, businesses, and rec parks in disadavantaged African-Americans areas…like the opportunity zones designated by Sen Tim Scott/President Trump. Slogans and taking a knee mean nothing. Actions are what matter.
Great analogy using uncles! I would love to eat and watch the dang game too! I just can’t support blm and their riots, burning flags and disregardng the police and the outcry of injustice when things escalate!
calling everyone racist is not a fight ill support
Hey Tom, you do realize that last years game was between the Packers and the Bears, right? Two of the biggest fan bases… the Chiefs and Texans just don’t have as many fans.
Brad, I don’t really know much about TV ratings, but it would seem to me that anything less than massively better ratings than last year should be alarming. With everyone stuck at home, with no preseason, with this being the first pro football contest of any kind on TV. You’d think the ratings would have been sky high. Seems like, in the current climate, Lions v Jaguars should have crushed the ratings from last year.
Much better teams to start the season off with this year and down 12%. It is going to get worse from here if the NFL continues to want to push social issues in something that is meant to be an escape for a few hours. I would bet the NBA playoff numbers are also WAY down.
Uhh maybe it’s because the Packers and the Bears have way bigger fan bases than the Chiefs and the Packers… dumbass
Weak argument. No need for insults. Insults correlate with intelligence levels…RELAX
We don’t want politics with our sports. It permeates everything else in our culture. And we hate it. At least with sports, we were united in cheering for our team, not knowing or caring if our fellow fans were of a different color or political persuasion. It was irrelevant. And still is. The NFL is tone deaf – they should have learned this lesson after the mess Colin Kaepernik left behind. And while I’m at it, Kaepernik was riding the bench for the 49ers because he wasn’t good. Only then did he start this protesting. AND he walked away from his team, having one year left on his contract, confident, I’m sure, that some other team would snap him right up. Sure. A mediocre player, who was never well-liked in the locker room, and would be nothing but a back-up player. He was delusional.
my hope is that enough people stop watching and nfl goes bust.
I was going comment on Holey Moley, but I see the racist are out. I wish the players would quit since none of you give a damn about them as people. They’re not objects or your slaves. They’re humans who have a right to their opinion. I also find it funny no one calls white supremacists terrorist.
Most viewers could care less about the race topic. We just want to watch good athletes make great plays. It does not matter what race they are. Obviously we would not be racist if we made a point to spend several hours cheering a black player make amazing plays while wearing his jersey number. To call the average sport viewer racist is racist in and of itself. You are the racist. You probably think all white are white supremacists or have white privilege. The players can certainly have their opinions, but do they have to shove it into my face when I am just watching a game? Can’t they do it off the field? As an immigrant, I think all Americans, no matter what color, need to realize how good they currently have it in this country. The past I realize was bad, but things are better decade by decade. No reason to paint everybody as racists, which is plain insulting.
good reply to Angel.
Becalled a racist is not a way to win me over.
I’m waiting on a new set of leagues to start up that will not have politics. When that occurs. NFL,MLB,NBA will change or die.
The NFL supports an origination that is Marxist and is for the injury and killing of law enforcement officers. Read and watch video of BLM leaders. NFL leaders are cowards……look at me look at me….im WOKE.
I am saddened that, that many people watched millionaires talk about how they have it bad. as a race we really do need to be wiped clean from the earth.
You have no idea what actually was going on, do you?
Maybe you’ll listen when millionaires do it. Because when normal people do it, you don’t.
Whine, whine,,,,most Americans are NOT racist! If black people want change then why are they killing each other at alarming rates? Why is it OK to put Planned Parenthood abortion clinics in mainly black neighborhoods? Why is it OK to abort almost a million black babies every year? Why doesn’t the NFL put in every player & coaches contract that they MUST spend in undesirable neighborhoods, back & white, and be a positive influence for change in their lives? Disrespecting our country & fellow Americans is not helping those that need help in changing their futures. Don’t you realize that Biden’s 1994 crime bill is a major part of the problem? Hard to be a good parent from jail….ALL LIVES MATTER
I used to really enjoy interacting with others in the comments section on TVLine… I don’t know when this site became hijacked by racist psychopaths. That anyone could be so incensed by an organization calling attention to this serious issue in our country is very sad. People who have this much anger (typing in ALL CAPS!) over the NFL supporting equality should really do some soul searching and try to find out what is making them so angry.
It’s rather disgusting. These are the same people who cried about the same stuff in the 60’s. Well their offspring too.
That’s the problem. People like you think everyone is racist. Yes racism is still a problem, but nowhere near the seriousness it was in the 1960’s. Many of the most influential and richest names in America are black currently. We just elected a black president for two terms. How can America be predominantly racist if more than half of us voted for a black president? Meanwhile, black-on-black crime gets no attention and deserves way more press. It is not necessarily racist that police officers (many of whom are black) are poorly trained and end up causing a deadly blunder in an unarmed black. Meanwhile, a black kills another black, and no one cares, especially the overpaid athletes, who are more focused on the media’s over-hyping of the occasional unarmed black homicide. There are about 7,300 Black homicide victims a year, predominantly at the hands of other blacks. The 14 unarmed victims in 2019 in fatal police shootings would comprise only 0.2% of that total.
We are not all racist. To call everyone racist is racist in and of itself. That’s why people are angry. Everyone wants to fix the police problem, but we do not want to be labeled as racists. We just want to watch a game without feeling like we are watching CNN and told what to think. FYI, I am not white, I am black.
***especially the overpaid athletes, who are more focused on the media’s over-hyping of the occasional unarmed black homicide in police custody.
“Occasional unarmed black homicide”
You must be kidding. What world do you live in?
So you’re pretty much saying “shut up and play”?
Well, excuse you. Some people want to effect change in this country.
The fact you say you are black makes all of your comments even worse. Don’t tell me, your voting for the orange one?
You have a right to your opinion, and I have mine. I live in a major American city that sees 250-300 homicides per year, mostly black-on-black, but only one notable unarmed black death in police custody in the last 5 years (which caused riots that actually increased the crime/murder rates more because police stood down and arrest rates plummeted while homicides soared.) I have been a victim of black-on-black robbery/assault myself. It’s as if people are completely oblivious to all the other black-on-black deaths. Yes, I tune in to watch football because it is sports entertainment and I expect to see athleticism and and not misinformed media-driven opinions rammed in my face. Athletes can share their opinions off the field, which is fine. If I wanted to watch politics I would tune into cable news, not football. Yes I am voting for Trump. I used to vote Democrat, but I am completely done with do-nothing, nay-saying, money-wasting Democrats who run my city into the ground and who only blame others for the city’s failure (last three mayors left in disgrace amidst scandal and embezzlement). They essentially want to make me and my kids feel like victims to racism and the discontinued and universally condemned institution of slavery that ended a century-and-a-half ago. Victims by definition cannot help themselves. When we refuse to be victims, we can actually rise above our obstacles and provide for ourselves. I agree with you that change is warranted and that police training needs to be better. But the biggest changes need to occur within the Black community itself, enacted by responsible conservative black leaders. Change is not effected by blaming everybody as racists. Doing so only builds resentment, makes American blacks appear entitled and vengeful, marginalizes them more, and makes everyone else walk on eggshells around us saying things like “Oh, I really empathize with your black plight, although I am not black”. We do not need to hijack a football game with resentment-building slogans and symbolic kneeling to effect change. All we need is ACTION off the field. Clarence Thomas, Dr. Ben Carson, Tim Scott, Leo Terrell, Hershel Walker, Jack Brewer, Burgess Owens, Kim Klacik, and yes. President Trump, are some of my heroes at the moment. They want change through action and not empty talk/slogans of victimization. BLM whines that “all lives don’t matter until black lives matter.” I feel this is a message of victimization. We blacks are fully in control of making our lives matter through studying hard, getting good grades, getting good jobs, staying away from crime/drugs, and refusing to play victim. Our lives should matter to us first, not to other non-black groups. We should not be shooting ourselves at a rate of one homicide per day like what happens in my city.
President Trump has earmarked opportunity zones to increase investment for Black America, has reformed criminal justice (First Step Act), has increased funding for Historically Black Universities, has achieved the lowest unemployment rates for Black America in history. He encourages that you earn your job through merit, which motivates people to stop whining and acting like victims and instead earn their keep. This is the positive change we need for Black America, not going backwards by making us feel like we need reparations for slavery to succeed in life or by making us feel like we are perpetual victims of police brutality, which is more the exception and not the rule if you simply just stay out of trouble. I teach my kids to be movers and shakers, not victims. Its unfortunate these rich athletes are teaching them otherwise. I know there is more change that this country needs to undergo, but at this point, after decades of civil rights reforms that resulted in a black president being elected twice, we blacks are no longer victims. We can help ourselves through our own actions and are way beyond slogans and silly commercialized displays that patronize us as victims and which serve only to ruin my Sunday enjoyment of a good football game.
I never said “everyone” is racist. After your rambling, incoherent response I definitely think you might be racist though… You probably don’t even realize it. A black man being president for 8 years doesn’t mean racism is cured. You’re an absolute imbecile lol.
Your post specifically stated “I don’t know when this site became hijacked by racist psychopaths.” So basically you are saying anybody wanting to watch a football game without political messages is a racist. Yeah, I guess you could say I am racist against anyone who makes race an issue. Racism will always exist to some degree; it’s part of human nature. I think we need to rise above the race issue and focus on our own merits and not blame race as a source of failure. Only then can we be truly color-blind. I wish the athletes would focus on that message, which is why I am inspired by athletes and watch sports in the first place. Those athletes made it to the top by refusing to succumb to blame and failure. For them to go against the message of “perseverance against all odds” to get to the pinnacle of sports is contrary to what I want to teach my kids. Yes police brutality and residual issues of race need attention, but no one needs a NFL-endorsed lecture on ending racism during a football game (as if it could be completely ended anyway). The mere fact that athletes of all color are all competing on one field and people are cheering for them is why we watch sports…so we can all be unified regardless of color and politics.
I come to learn – please don’t insult me.
Based on your logic, 2 questions…
1) During the Gulf War when the NFL players made effort to support the troops was that unifying when so many people were against the war?
2) If its just about watching football then why have the National Anthem?
How is Gcon’s response incoherent? I understood everything he said. Stop pushing the victim mentality Brian.
NFL ratings are down because of players disrespect for our country and those who died protecting it. They would make a tremendous impact if they went on strike and did not take their pay but donated it to worthy charities to make the point. That would be impressive.
Just like the other years of protests the ratings are going to go down. So the net effect is if they keep up this garbage the Revenues will slide so much for TV revenue sharing that beginning in 2021 some players will be cut and new contracts will not be so juicy.
Been huge football fan for years, but due to the kaepernik disrespect of military & flag, and the kind of racism he is fostering, ourselves and dozen friends just turned tvs off!
I pay for and tune in for sports entertainment not all the BS.
I find both politics and football to be very entertaining.
I also find both pancakes and broccoli to be very tasty.
But in either case, when they’re mixed together, the result is an unpalatable gruel.
It is no fun too watch anymore. Too political. They don’t deserve our viewership. Hopefully they will get the hint. When they see viewshil go down
Who is the NFL’s intended target of the “you’re all racists” preaching? The fans?
STUPID!!!
FAKE NEWS !!!!
We have the power to stop all this Anti-American crap. We only have to send a post card to a advertiser of the NFL like Bud and tell them as long as they advertise with the NFL we are drinking Coors light. If we warn them then actually switch when they see a 10% drop in sells the NFL will hear from them loud and clear. You start costing the owners money see how long this taking a knee or wearing a rapist name on your helmet will last
Holy cow your all talking from the same FOX and OAN talking points. You all sound like idiots. Which is common for uninformed people about issues in America. The teams all stayed in the locker room during the flag thing back before 2009. Where was the outrage then? I think your all bigots but want to hide behind the flag just like some of you do with GOD…play ball…let Trump through this hissy fit just for votes .. your all being played by the Con Man from New York
All this BLM protesting is really working? Being empowered, today they think it is OK to attack a police officer with a knife? But it’s not alright for the officer to shoot the attacker attempting to kill him because that is Social Injustice? And that spawns another protest? Smart.