The NFL preseason can be painful to watch at times, and there are undoubtedly pockets of fans across the country that were turned off by the three-plus month lockout, but all signs point towards the NFL having a monster year with television ratings. FOX’s telecast of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles’ second preseason game propeled the network to the win Thursday night.
Fox scored a touchdown with preseason NFL coverage last night.
The network easily won the night with a 3.0 adults 18-49 rating and 10 share from 8 to 11 p.m., according to Nielsen overnights, 50 percent ahead of the night’s No. 2 finisher, CBS, with a 2.0/6.
The game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles, won 24-14 by the Steelers, peaked with a 3.5 rating between 8:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Unsurprisingly, the network’s share was highest for the 8-9 pm hour when the game was getting underway and fans knew they’d have the opportunity to watch starters like Ben Roethlisberger and Michael Vick play before being shut down for the night. Remarkably though, FOX won every hour between 8 and 11.
Ahh, to be king.