Record 37.5 million viewers watch Lions-Bears Thanksgiving Day game on CBS
(CBS DETROIT) — A record 37.5 million viewers watched this year's Detroit Lions-Chicago Bears Thanksgiving Day game on CBS, making it the most-watched early Thanksgiving Day game ever.
The game, which was up 11% over last year's Lions-Packers Turkey Day matchup, saw Detroit snap a seven-game Thanksgiving losing skid dating back to 2016 with a 23-20 win over Chicago and extend its current win streak to 10 games in the process.
The Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on Thanksgiving afternoon averaged 38.8 million viewers and was the fourth most-watched Thanksgiving Day game ever, per Nielsen data.
The three games averaged 34.2 million viewers, which is the highest Thanksgiving Day average ever, with records dating back to 1988, according to the NFL. In addition, the three games had an average minute audience of 1.1 million across streaming platforms.
The total audience for the three games was 141 million, marking the highest Thanksgiving total on record and up 6% over last year.
The NFC North-leading Lions (11-1) are sporting their best record after 12 games in franchise history and host the rival Green Bay Packers (9-3) Thursday night at Ford Field.
The Lions return to CBS for a Week 15 matchup against the AFC East champion Buffalo Bills (10-2) on Sunday, Dec. 15, at 4:25 p.m. "The NFL Today" crew will be in the Motor City for a special live broadcast on CBS and Paramount+ at noon.
