NEARLY 28 MILLION WATCH BEARS-PACKERS ON THANKSGIVING NIGHT - SECOND-MOST WATCHED NBC PRIMETIME GAME EVER
Bears-Packers Tops Last Year's NBC Thanksgiving Game by 21% & Is NFL's Most-Watched Thanksgiving Primetime Game Ever; Adult 18-49 Demo Up 22% From '14
Special Brett Favre Halftime Ceremony Averages 28.2 Million Viewers
Tom Brady and 10-0 Patriots Visit Brock Osweiler and First-Place Broncos This Weekend on Sunday Night Football
STAMFORD, Conn. - November 27, 2015 - The Chicago Bears' down-to-the-wire 17-13 victory over the Green Bay Packers last night on NBC's Sunday Night Football on Thanksgiving night averaged 27.8 million viewers, to rank as NBC's second-most watched NFL regular-season game since acquiring the SNF package in 2006, behind only the 30.3 million for the Dallas-Washington, Week 17 "win-and-in" game in 2012.
The game is also the NFL's most-watched Thanksgiving primetime game ever, topping by 21% last year's game (22.9 million viewers for Seattle's victory over San Francisco), according to fast national data released today by The Nielsen Company. The NFL introduced the Thanksgiving primetime game in 2006.
"Like a scene out of a movie. Brett Favre. Bart Starr. The tradition. Lambeau Field. Great. Just great." - Al Michaels on the scene in Green Bay on Thanksgiving night
Last night's Bears-Packers game (8:31-11:48 p.m. ET), the 191st meeting in the NFL's most-played rivalry, posted a 13.8/28 fast national rating - up 21% from the 11.4/23 for Seahawks-49ers last year. The Adult 18-49 rating increased 22% from last year's holiday primetime game, averaging a 9.0 in the demo (vs. a 7.4 in 2014).
The Packers' halftime ceremony honoring Brett Favre (10:15-10:30 p.m. ET), which featured a memorable appearance by Hall of Fame Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr, averaged 28.2 million viewers.
The Bears victory was highlighted by Jay Cutler passing for 200 yards and one touchdown for his first career win in Green Bay, and a defensive stand which stopped four Packers' goal-to-go pass attempts from the 8-yard-line in the game's final minute.
TOP METERED MARKETS FOR BEARS-PACKERS:
1. Milwaukee 44.1/72
2. Chicago 29.8/57
3. Minneapolis 28.1/52
4. Las Vegas 21.0/37
5. Denver 19.5/40
6. Buffalo 19.3/34
7. New Orleans 19.0/31
8. Indianapolis 17.9/33
9. Norfolk 17.0/30
10. Phoenix 16.8/32
DIGITAL: NBC Sports Live Extra's presentation of Bears-Packers totaled nearly 10.8 million live streaming minutes, up 71% from last year's Thanksgiving night game (6.3 million).
NBC's Thanksgiving weekend NFL coverage continues this Sunday, Nov. 29, as Tom Brady and the unbeaten New England Patriots (10-0) travel to Denver to face Brock Osweiler and the first-place Broncos (8-2) on NBC's Sunday Night Football. Sunday's coverage begins with Football Night In America at 7 p.m. ET on NBC.
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