The Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos officially opened the 2013 NFL season this past Thursday, though, it wasn’t without some drama.
Before the season even began, the Baltimore Orioles refused to reschedule their game, resulting in the Ravens’ game being moved to Denver instead of at home where you often like your reigning Super Bowl winners to play.
Past that, the start of the game was delayed due to weather (lightning in the area) and according to TV by the Numbers, the NFL saw their worst debut ratings since 2009.
Now, as bad as that might sound, it’s not really. The target demographic was up over last season and the poor numbers can likely be attributed to the late start time, especially for the East Coast as the game didn’t even start until after 9pm. Add in that the game became a blowout relatively quickly and the low ratings have some explanation behind them.
Even with the broadcast problems, the game absolutely crushed everything else on television Thursday night, so I don’t think the NFL has to worry that much.