The NFL averaged 21.0 million viewers per game during the league’s opening week, marking it the most-watched Week 1 on record. According to data released by the league and Nielsen on Wednesday morning, the per-game average on TV and digital platforms saw a 12% increase compared to last year. Nielsen began its electronic measurement of viewing in 1988.
Overall, 123 million people tuned in to watch at least part of one game, the highest total for an opening week since 2019. Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, expressed optimism about the season’s strong start, stating, “A great start with the viewership. It was great to be back and a lot to be excited about.”
NBC broadcast the most-watched game, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 victory over the Baltimore Ravens last Thursday, which averaged 29.2 million viewers on TV and digital platforms. This marked NBC’s second-largest regular season game since 2006, the year it acquired the “Sunday Night Football” package. The Sunday night match between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams, which the Lions won 26-20 in overtime, averaged 22.7 million viewers, reflecting a 3% jump from last year.
Tom Brady’s debut as Fox’s top analyst raked in significant viewership; the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-17 win over the Cleveland Browns averaged 23.93 million viewers. Fox’s six games, part of a doubleheader (four early, two late), averaged 18.64 million viewers, marking the network’s best opening week since 2020. This was the first time since 2020 that Fox exclusively held the Sunday afternoon doubleheader in Week 1; both CBS and Fox had carried two games apiece on opening Sundays for the past three seasons.
CBS reported an average of 17.79 million viewers for its six games, making it the network’s most-watched Week 1 singleheader since reacquiring NFL rights in 1998. Most of CBS’ affiliates aired games in the 1 p.m. EDT window, with New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh getting an additional game at 4:05 p.m. EDT featuring Jim Harbaugh’s debut as coach of the Los Angeles Chargers against the Las Vegas Raiders. League rules prevented these markets from showing other games in CBS’ early window to avoid competition with the local team’s game.
Philadelphia’s 34-29 victory over Green Bay in the NFL’s first Friday night Week 1 game in 54 years averaged 14.0 million viewers on Peacock and NBC affiliates in Philadelphia, Green Bay, and Milwaukee. It became the second-most watched live event in Peacock’s four-year history, second only to last season’s AFC wild card round game between Kansas City and Miami. Schroeder remarked, “I think the numbers even exceeded our expectations. Brazil was great and the game was an exciting one. On a new night and window, I think that was a phenomenal start for us.”
“Monday Night Football” across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ averaged 20.4 million viewers for San Francisco’s 32-19 win over the New York Jets, despite most DirecTV customers missing the broadcast due to a carriage dispute with Disney. The only way DirecTV customers in affected areas like New York and San Francisco could watch was if their ABC affiliate was not owned by Disney. The average was down from the 22.7 million viewers who tuned in for last year’s opener between the Jets and Buffalo.
