The Thanksgiving tradition of family, food and football continued this past weekend as fans tuned into NFL games in large numbers – accounting for the three most-watched shows of the week.
The FOX Thanksgiving game (Saints-Cowboys) drew 31.9 million viewers – the most for a Thanksgiving game in 12 years (Vikings-Cowboys, 32.7 million in 1998).
The CBS Thanksgiving game (Patriots-Lions) drew a 15.0 overnight rating – the highest for a Thanksgiving game since that same Vikings-Cowboys game in 1998 (15.8). (Viewership figures for the CBS game will be available on Friday, according to The Nielsen Company, but it will rank with the FOX game as the week's top two programs).
The FOX doubleheader game on Sunday (mostly Eagles-Bears) was watched by 26.6 million viewers and along with the Thanksgiving games topped all non-NFL programming last week.
The Thanksgiving night Bengals-Jets game on NFL Network was watched by 7.1 million cable viewers (not including over-the-air markets), ranking as NFL Network's most-watched Thanksgiving game.
