Media

NFL has strong first week of ratings

Both CBS and Fox posted ratings gains for their NFL Week 1 games, raising hopes that the years long decline in TV viewership may be ending.

CBS earned a 10.6 overnight rating on its regional games — a 23 percent increase from Week 1 last year. Its Baltimore Ravens-Buffalo Bills contest was the highest recorded Week 1 game since 2015.

On Fox, which aired games at both 1 p.m. and 4:25 p.m., ratings on both games increased.

The early Minnesota Vikings-San Francisco 49ers regional games drew an 8.8 rating — up 5 percent from last year. The second game, between the Carolina Panthers and Dallas Cowboys, drew an overnight ratings of 15.7, a 1 percent uptick.

The only ratings loser, NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” was the day’s most dramatic contest.

The Green Bay Packers overcame a 17-point halftime deficit to beat the Chicago Bears 24-23. The game drew a 14.4 rating — down 9 percent from 2017.





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