The NFL’s opening week set a new viewership record, drawing an average of 21 million viewers per game across TV and digital platforms. This marks a 12% increase from last year, making it the highest-watched Week 1 in NFL history, according to Nielsen, which has tracked viewership since 1988.
In total, 123 million people tuned in to watch at least part of one game, the highest opening week audience since 2019. “It was a fantastic start for viewership,” said Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution. “It was great to be back, and there is a lot to be excited about.”
NBC’s Thursday night game featuring the Kansas City Chiefs, the defending Super Bowl champions, against the Baltimore Ravens led the pack with 29.2 million viewers. This game marked NBC’s second-highest-rated regular season game since 2006. The Sunday night faceoff between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams also drew significant attention, averaging 22.7 million viewers—a 3% jump from the previous year.
Fox also had an impressive start, with Tom Brady making his debut as a lead analyst for Dallas’ 33-17 win over Cleveland. This game attracted 23.93 million viewers, while Fox’s six doubleheader games averaged 18.64 million viewers, its best opening since 2020. This year, Fox was the sole network to air the Sunday afternoon doubleheader, unlike the past three years when both Fox and CBS aired doubleheaders.
CBS, on the other hand, averaged 17.79 million viewers for its six games. This was CBS’s highest Week 1 singleheader viewership since it regained NFL rights in 1998. Most of the CBS affiliates aired games in the early afternoon slot, except for New York, Chicago, Atlanta, and Pittsburgh, which got the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Las Vegas Raiders game at 4:05 p.m. EDT.
Philadelphia’s thrilling 34-29 win over Green Bay made history as the first Friday night Week 1 game in 54 years. The game, broadcast on Peacock and NBC affiliates, drew 14 million viewers, becoming the second-most watched event in Peacock’s history. “The numbers surpassed our expectations,” Schroeder remarked. “It was an impressive start for a game scheduled on a new night.”
“Monday Night Football” on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ also pulled in substantial numbers, averaging 20.4 million viewers for the game between the San Francisco 49ers and the New York Jets. Despite a carriage dispute between Disney and DirecTV, viewership remained strong, though slightly lower than the previous year’s opener.
With such a promising start, the NFL is poised for an exciting season ahead.
