We have the overnight ratings for the 2013 NFL Kickoff Game on NBC. For the fourth straight year, it topped the 16 plateau with a 16.2 overnight number on Thursday. The share for the game was a 29. Due to a weather delay at the outset, the game’s number was helped as the game was pushed back to 9:15 p.m. on the East Coast and meaning more people were home out West.
However, the 16.2/29 was 2% off from last year’s 16.5/26 for the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game which opened the season on a Wednesday night due to a conflict with the Democratic National Convention. It’s the lowest overnight for the NFL Kickoff Game since a 13.8 for the Tennessee Titans-Pittsburgh Steelers game in 2009.
The top-rated local markets come from this tweet from NBC Sports public relations Twitter account.
Top markets for Kickoff game: Den 43.9; Balt 37.6; NO 25.1; Indy 24.9; Nashville 22.6
— NBCSportsPR (@NBCSportsPR) September 6, 2013
Overall, the game crushed all other competition on broadcast and cable showing once again, the NFL is king. NBC’s season premiere of Sunday Night Football will have the Giants and Cowboys so expect another big number when the overnights are released on Monday.
