New Orleans doubles Atlanta in TV ratings for Falcons-Saints game
The Falcons beat the Saints on “Thursday Night Football,” but Atlanta was no match for New Orleans in the TV ratings for the game.
The game, on NBC and NFL Network, drew a 46.1 rating in the New Orleans TV market, more than double the 22.3 rating in the Atlanta market.
The rating is the percentage of households in the markets that watched the game on average.
The Richmond, Va., market posted the third highest rating for the game at 15.1, followed by Minneapolis (14.2), Albuquerque (13.6) and Seattle (13.4), according to Nielsen figures provided by NBC.
The Falcons won the game 20-17 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Nationally, the game drew a 10.2 overnight rating, meaning 10.2 percent of homes in the 56 metered markets watched on average.
In the Atlanta market, each full rating point equals about 24,100 households, translating to a local TV audience of about 538,000 households Thursday night. Home games can reduce the Atlanta market’s TV rating by up to two points or so for Falcons games because of fans in the stadium.
About the Author
Tim Tucker, a long-time AJC sports reporter, often writes about the business side of the games. He also had stints as the AJC's Braves beat writer, UGA beat writer, sports notes columnist and executive sports editor. He was deputy managing editor of America's first all-sports newspaper, The National Sports Daily.
