It was expected that the NFL would draw massive viewership for the Week 1 opener between the Chiefs and Texans on Thursday night, as football fans hadn’t seen a game played among any of the league’s teams in roughly seven months, given that preseason games were canceled.
And while the product, specifically the play on the field, was solid, and the game was clearly watchable, fans didn’t flock to tune in as it was initially predicted they would.
In fact, the game drew a total of 16.4 million viewers from 8-11 p.m. ET — a decline of 16.1 percent from what the Packers and Bears drew in the Thursday night opener last season, according to Deadline. It garnered only a 5.2 rating among adults aged 18-49.
This is interesting, as it sure looks like fans are sending a message about the social justice issues the country is currently facing, and will likely result in Sunday’s Week 1 ratings declining from where they were last season as well. Stay tuned.
