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If the length of a single toe was all that separated the Baltimore Ravens from a road win against the Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night, the gap between the ratings for this year’s NFL Kickoff Game and the analogous broadcast in 2023 was a little bit wider.
Including some 4.6 million streaming impressions, NBC’s coverage of Kansas City’s 27-20 win averaged 28.9 million viewers, up 5% vs. the year-ago Lions-Chiefs opener (27.5 million). The NBC/Peacock deliveries made this the biggest draw in the 23-year history of the league’s Thursday night opener; per Nielsen, the audience peaked at 33 million viewers during the second quarter.
The Kickoff Game now stands as the 17th-most-watched U.S. broadcast of 2024 and is currently the year’s 12th-biggest NFL telecast. Kansas City was the top performing market, as 80% of all TVs in use were tuned to NBC, while Baltimore boasted a 60% share.
NBC nearly stumbled into a little bonus football, as Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely seemed to have tied the game pending an extra-point in the closing seconds with a catch in the back of the end zone that capped off a 77-play drive. But Likely’s 10-yard reception was overturned after a replay indicated that a portion of his right foot had made contact with the end line.
If the revised touchdown call was a tough break for the Ravens, which came up short of the Chiefs in the AFC Championship Game seven months ago, it also served as a reminder that Kansas City’s quest for a third straight Super Bowl title will not be a cakewalk. At times, the offense looked shaky, as Patrick Mahomes’ receivers failed to hang onto the ball at three crucial moments during the first 30 minutes of play. With 1:45 left in the half, the two-time MVP also was pressured into throwing an interception in the dead center of the midfield logo.
Mahomes’ pick set up a field goal for Baltimore, which cut Kansas City’s lead to 13-10. He finished the game with 20 of 28 passing for 291 yards….
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ravens-chiefs-draw-23-ratings-225536086.html
Author : Sportico
Publish date : 2024-09-06 22:55:36
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