via press release:
NFL TOPS ON TV THANKSGIVING WEEKEND
FOX’s Redskins-Cowboys Thanksgiving Day Game
Most-Watched Show of Fall TV Season
Games Rank as Three Most-Watched Shows of Week &
Top Two Shows in Primetime
Highest Avg. Thanksgiving Day Viewership Since 1999
The Thanksgiving tradition of family, food and football continued this past weekend as fans tuned into NFL games in huge numbers.
The FOX Thanksgiving game (Redskins-Cowboys) was watched by an average of 28.7 million viewers topping all programs for the week (Nov. 19-25) and ranking as the most-watched show of the fall TV season.
The CBS Thanksgiving game (Texans-Lions) was the second most-watched show of the week with an average of 27.3 million viewers — the fourth consecutive CBS Thanksgiving game to top 25 million viewers.
NBC’s Sunday Night Football (Packers-Giants) was the week’s most-watched primetime show averaging 20.9 million viewers with NBC’s Patriots-Jets Thanksgiving night game ranking second in primetime with an average of 19.2 million viewers. NBC’s Thanksgiving night viewership is tops all-time among primetime Thanksgiving games and the most-watched Thursday night program on any network since the Summer Olympics.
The three-game Thanksgiving Day average of 25.6 million viewers is the highest Thanksgiving Day average since 1999 (27.1 million for Bears-Lions and Dolphins-Cowboys).
The FOX Sunday national telecast (mostly 49ers-Saints) was the third most-watched show of the week with an average of 24.9 million viewers.
Thanksgiving week visits to NFL Digital media mobile properties (mobile web, apps, and mobile browser on desktop) including NFL Mobile Only From Verizon, were up 67 percent over 2011 Thanksgiving week.
Locally, NFL games topped ratings in 29 NFL markets. Following is the list of NFL markets where football was the top-rated program for the week of Nov. 19-25:
| Week of 11/19-25 |
HH |
HH |
RTG |
||
| Market | Game |
Date |
RTG |
SHR |
Rank |
| New Orleans | 49ers at Saints |
11/25/2012 |
51.3 |
69 |
1 |
| Milwaukee | Packers at Giants |
11/25/2012 |
43.8 |
61 |
1 |
| Pittsburgh | Steelers at Browns |
11/25/2012 |
41.2 |
69 |
1 |
| Baltimore | Ravens at Chargers |
11/25/2012 |
37.9 |
54 |
1 |
| Indianapolis | Bills at Colts |
11/25/2012 |
36.2 |
60 |
1 |
| Boston | Patriots at Jets |
11/22/2012 |
34.9 |
61 |
1 |
| Denver | Broncos at Chiefs |
11/25/2012 |
34.4 |
68 |
1 |
| Cleveland | Steelers at Browns |
11/25/2012 |
34.2 |
62 |
1 |
| Kansas City | Broncos at Chiefs |
11/25/2012 |
32.3 |
60 |
1 |
| Minneapolis | Vikings at Bears |
11/25/2012 |
31.7 |
63 |
1 |
| Buffalo | Bills at Colts |
11/25/2012 |
30.7 |
51 |
1 |
| Chicago | Vikings at Bears |
11/25/2012 |
29.9 |
58 |
1 |
| Seattle | Seahawks at Dolphins |
11/25/2012 |
27.1 |
56 |
1 |
| Detroit | Texans at Lions |
11/22/2012 |
27.0 |
57 |
1 |
| Houston | Texans at Lions |
11/22/2012 |
26.5 |
61 |
1 |
| Dallas | Redskins at Cowboys |
11/22/2012 |
24.7 |
56 |
1 |
| Atlanta | Falcons at Bucs |
11/25/2012 |
24.3 |
44 |
1 |
| San Fran-Oakland | 49ers at Saints |
11/25/2012 |
22.7 |
53 |
1 |
| St. Louis | Rams at Cardinals |
11/25/2012 |
22.6 |
38 |
1 |
| Washington, DC | Redskins at Cowboys |
11/22/2012 |
22.4 |
62 |
1 |
| Phoenix | Rams at Cardinals |
11/25/2012 |
22.2 |
44 |
1 |
| Nashville | Titans at Jaguars |
11/25/2012 |
22.0 |
38 |
1 |
| New York | Packers at Giants |
11/25/2012 |
18.9 |
28 |
1 |
| Cincinnati | Raiders at Bengals |
11/25/2012 |
16.9 |
32 |
1 |
| Charlotte | 49ers at Saints |
11/25/2012 |
17.7 |
29 |
1 |
| San Diego | Texans at Lions |
11/22/2012 |
16.6 |
36 |
1 |
| Tampa | 49ers at Saints |
11/25/2012 |
15.8 |
27 |
1 |
| Philadelphia | Texans at Lions |
11/22/2012 |
15.6 |
37 |
1 |
| Miami | Seahawks at Dolphins |
11/25/2012 |
15.0 |
33 |
1 |
Source: NFL & The Nielsen Company
