America Likes To Watch Tom Brady
October 16th, 2021
Stars and TV markets matter.
On paper, for football diehards, the Bucs-Eagles game on Thursday night was, “Hey, it beats changing diapers and fixing the kitchen faucet that I’m constantly nagged about repairing. It’s football. Where’s my beer?”
Last year’s Week 6 “Thursday Night Football” game between the then-Super Bowl champion Chiefs and the up-and-coming Bills with wunderkind quarterback Josh Allen was so much more appealing for your average football fan/purist.
But the Bucs-Eagles game demonstrates what star power and TV markets can do. The TV ratings on Thursday blew away last year’s Chiefs-Bills game.
Why? Well, you had international superstar quarterback Tom Brady playing for the Bucs against a team from a football-crazy town that is fourth-largest in the country.
And it doesn’t hurt that football fans in another large TV market, Boston, are closet Bucs fans because of Brady.
The NFL announced yesterday that the Bucs-Eagles game was the second-most-watched NFL regular season game on digital platforms via the streaming audience of Amazon, Yahoo! Sports, NFL.com, Twitch and the Bucs and Eagles’ apps.
[The game] was seen by an average audience of 14.5 million across all platforms, including FOX, NFL Network, FOX Deportes, NFL digital, FOX Sports digital, Amazon Prime Video, Twitch and Yahoo Sports mobile properties.
The 14.5 million viewers for Buccaneers-Eagles across all platforms is up +14% versus last year’s Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Buffalo Bills (12.7 million).
Digital streaming across Amazon Prime Video, Twitch, NFL digital, Buccaneers and Eagles mobile properties, FOX Sports digital and Yahoo Sports mobile properties produced an average minute audience of 1.5 million – up +59% versus last year’s Week 6 Thursday Night Football matchup (954k).
So yes, America loves football. And those numbers show the power of international superstars and TV markets and how they generate large viewing audiences. Yes, size matters.
And while the Chiefs-Bills game, on paper, was a much better game for the football purist, more people are turned on, or at least tuned in, when big cities and more household-name athletes are involved.
October 16th, 2021 at 10:04 am
America’s Quarterback Pro Bowler, Tom Brady
October 16th, 2021 at 10:09 am
Exactly ^ a less ironic moniker
October 16th, 2021 at 10:10 am
Brayd, no difference when Tiger Woods hits the course or Jordan laces up the sneakers. If they play the fans will come. Even though Brady is still disliked by fans all over the country. They hate him cause they ain’t him.
October 16th, 2021 at 10:29 am
And remember, last year everybody was locked inside their houses, so you would expect more people was available to watch the game in digital platforms that last Thursday
October 16th, 2021 at 11:17 am
Once Brady retires, NFL is dead.
October 16th, 2021 at 11:44 am
America’s Quarterback, Pro Bowler, actually has led his team to the playoffs, Bucs Super Bowl winning Tom Brady.
October 16th, 2021 at 12:03 pm
Brady definitely gets ratings but this is not a fair comparison. That Chiefs Bills game if I remember was originally a Thursday night game and was pushed to Monday of the next week at 5PM due to covid reasons.
October 16th, 2021 at 1:33 pm
I hope he plays here until 55, lol…and plays as well as he is now. Maybe by then we will not be viewed as Patriots South.
October 16th, 2021 at 2:23 pm
The previous America’s Quarterback was more an extreme exaggeration than anything else. Had no merit at all. I can only hope Joe realized this.
October 16th, 2021 at 3:27 pm
And this is why we’ve been getting the calls lately. The owners want the ratings money and the refs know who butters their bread.
October 16th, 2021 at 3:58 pm
That TV market guide is nonsense. How in the world would a crime ridden dump like Philadelphia add 250,000 people in a year? Give me a break, it’s much more likely 250,000 people were murdered in Philly as opposed to moved there. Meanwhile they have Tampa Bay dropping a spot in the ratings? Fake news.
October 16th, 2021 at 6:00 pm
Why no monikers? must be the cool Joe
The monikers are not here on every post. Not even close, though some think they are. –Joe
October 16th, 2021 at 7:11 pm
Joebucsfan would not be the without the monikers. LET’S GO BUCS!!!
October 16th, 2021 at 7:35 pm
Football fans like Tom Brady because he is down to earth. He is a player and another coach. He is not arrogant at all. It is simply amazing that he is so good for his age. He doesn’t show any signs of slowing down. I have such a high regard for him both as a player and a person. God bless mr. Brady.
October 17th, 2021 at 9:29 pm
Obviously Brady is the straw that stirs the drink. But it’s a tasty drink indeed.
The nightime shots of our skyline, the boats, waterways, people love fantasizing about getting away from their rapidly chilling and graying skies to our sunshine and warmth.
The beaches…and then the rest of the team with Gronk completing the Butch and Sundance storyline…plenty of others. The Bucs are a great story right now…big ratings!