Foxborough, Mass. (Friday, Aug. 14, 2009) - Tom Brady's return to the field was a ratings touchdown for Kraft Sports Productions and WBZ-TV in the first year of their partnership broadcasting Patriots preseason games.
The Patriots' preseason game versus the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night earned a 14.6 rating and a 27 share. The game was the top program in total households and total viewers in every demographic among all broadcast and cable networks on Thursday. The broadcast averaged 524,300 total viewers, ranking second in total viewers for a preseason game since the introduction of Local People Meter ratings in 2002. The game peaked at 8:45 p.m. with 643,290 total viewers. Patriots-Eagles ranked among the top five television events of the summer (June 1 to Aug. 13, 2009) for adults and men 18-49 and 25-54 in the Boston market.
Brady, in his first game action since suffering a season-ending injury in the Patriots' 2008 regular season opener, played the majority of the first half and completed 10 of 15 passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns as the Patriots defeated the Eagles 27-25 in Philadelphia.
This is the first season that Patriots preseason broadcasts are airing on WBZ-TV after 14 seasons on WCVB. Veteran announcers Don Criqui and Randy Cross are making the calls from the booth and WBZ-TV's Steve Burton is reporting from the sideline. WBZ-TV will air the three remaining Patriots pre-season games, including the Thursday, Aug. 20 preseason home opener against the Cincinnati Bengals, the Friday, Aug. 28 road game against the Washington Redskins, which will also be aired nationally by CBS, and the Thursday, Sept. 3 preseason finale against the New York Giants. Kraft Sports Productions will produce the Bengals and Giants game broadcasts.
WBZ-TV is also home to "Patriots Gameday" prior to every game and "Patriots 5th Quarter" after each game. "Patriots Gameday" on Thursday had a household rating of a 5.32 with a 12 share. "Patriots 5th Quarter" had a household rating of 5.70 with a 12 share.
Kraft Sports Productions also produces Patriots All Access, which airs on WBZ-TV every Friday at 7 p.m. during the regular season. The 2009 regular season debut of Patriots All Access is Sept. 11.
The Aug. 20 preseason game against the Bengals will kick off Patriots Alumni Weekend. The late Jim Nance and Patriots Founder Billy Sullivan will be inducted into the Patriots Hall of Fame in a public ceremony outside The Hall at Patriot Place presented by Raytheon at 4:30 p.m. At halftime, Nance will be honored along with dozens of Patriots alumni on the field.
