via press release:
NFL TOPS ON TV THANKSGIVING WEEKEND WITH THREE MOST-WATCHED SHOWS OF WEEK
FOX’s Saints-Cowboys Most-Watched Thanksgiving Game in 12 Years;
Sunday National (mostly Eagles-Bears) Tops All Non-NFL programs
CBS’ Patriots-Lions Draws Top Thanksgiving Overnight rating Since 1998
Bengals-Jets Draws NFL Network Thanksgiving Record
The Thanksgiving tradition of family, food and football continued this past weekend as fans tuned into NFL games in large numbers – accounting for the three most-watched shows of the week.
The FOX Thanksgiving game (Saints-Cowboys) drew 31.9 million viewers – the most for a Thanksgiving game in 12 years (Vikings-Cowboys, 32.7 million in 1998).
The CBS Thanksgiving game (Patriots-Lions) drew a 15.0 overnight rating – the highest for a Thanksgiving game since that same Vikings-Cowboys game in 1998 (15.8). (Viewership figures for the CBS game will be available on Friday, according to The Nielsen Company, but it will rank with the FOX game as the week’s top two programs).
The FOX doubleheader game on Sunday (mostly Eagles-Bears) was watched by 26.6 million viewers and along with the Thanksgiving games topped all non-NFL programming last week.
The Thanksgiving night Bengals-Jets game on NFL Network was watched by 7.1 million cable viewers (not including over-the-air markets), ranking as NFL Network’s most-watched Thanksgiving game.
Following is the list of 28 NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Nov. 22-28:
| Week of 11/22–28 | HH | HH | RTG | ||
| Market | Game | Date | RTG | SHR | Rank |
| Pittsburgh | Steelers at Bills | 11/28/10 | 45.0 | 72 | 1 |
| Milwaukee | Packers at Falcons | 11/28/10 | 42.5 | 72 | 1 |
| Indianapolis | Chargers at Colts | 11/28/10 | 41.7 | 55 | 1 |
| Kansas City | Chiefs at Seahawks | 11/28/10 | 39.8 | 61 | 1 |
| Chicago | Eagles at Bears | 11/28/10 | 39.6 | 66 | 1 |
| New Orleans | Saints at Cowboys | 11/25/10 | 39.2 | 69 | 1 |
| San Diego | Chargers at Colts | 11/28/10 | 39.2 | 56 | 1 |
| Minneapolis | Vikings at Redskins | 11/28/10 | 36.7 | 72 | 1 |
| Philadelphia | Eagles at Bears | 11/28/10 | 35.0 | 53 | 1 |
| Baltimore | Buccaneers at Ravens | 11/28/10 | 34.3 | 53 | 1 |
| Buffalo | Steelers at Bills | 11/28/10 | 33.4 | 56 | 1 |
| Cleveland | Panthers at Browns | 11/28/10 | 31.7 | 57 | 1 |
| Nashville | Titans at Texans | 11/28/10 | 30.9 | 52 | 1 |
| St. Louis | Rams at Broncos | 11/28/10 | 28.2 | 45 | 1 |
| Atlanta | Packers at Falcons | 11/28/10 | 27.7 | 50 | 1 |
| Denver | Broncos at Chargers | 11/22/10 | 27.3 | 40 | 1 |
| Dallas | Saints at Cowboys | 11/25/10 | 26.8 | 62 | 1 |
| Cincinnati | Bengals at Jets | 11/25/10 | 26.5 | 43 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | Jaguars at Giants | 11/28/10 | 26.2 | 44 | 1 |
| Detroit | Patriots at Lions | 11/25/10 | 26.1 | 54 | 1 |
| Boston | Patriots at Lions | 11/25/10 | 25.2 | 69 | 1 |
| Washington, DC | Vikings at Redskins | 11/28/10 | 23.8 | 48 | 1 |
| Seattle | Chiefs at Seahawks | 11/28/10 | 23.2 | 48 | 1 |
| Charlotte | Panthers at Browns | 11/28/10 | 21.6 | 42 | 1 |
| Tampa | Buccaneers at Ravens | 11/28/10 | 21.5 | 38 | 1 |
| Houston | Titans at Texans | 11/28/10 | 21.2 | 45 | 1 |
| Miami | Dolphins at Raiders | 11/28/10 | 17.0 | 31 | 1 |
| Phoenix | Patriots at Lions | 11/25/10 | 16.9 | 36 | 1 |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company
