NFL sets record for viewership in Week 1
By Max Weisman
The NFL remains king in America. According to Joe Reedy of the Associated Press, the average viewership across all Week 1 games was 21 million people. This marks the most-watched Week 1 on record.
The NFL and Nielsen said Wednesday that there was a 12% increase in the per-game average on TV and on digital platforms. Nielsen began measuring viewership in 1988.
According to the report, 123 million people saw at least a part of one game, the highest total for an opening week since 2019. Hans Schroeder, the NFL's executive vice president of media distribution said this was a good sign.
RELATED: Bears coach Matt Eberflus reveals why rookie Caleb Williams will shine in Week 2
“A great start with the viewership. It was great to be back and a lot to be excited about,” he said. “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.”
NBC had the most-watched Week 1 game, the Thursday night opener between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens, averaging 29.2 million viewers. Their 'Sunday Night Football' game between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams averaged 22.7 million, a 3% increase from last year.
For the first time, the NFL played a game from Brazil and had a Week 1 Friday night game. The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 34-29 while 14 million people watched on Peacock. It was the streaming services' second-highest-watched live event.
Tom Brady returned to the NFL, albiet as the lead analyst for Fox's coverage, and his broadcasting debut, calling the Dallas Cowboys 33-17 win over the Cleveland Browns averaged just under 24 million viewers. Fox averaged 18.64 million viewers across its six games.
CBS averaged just under 17.8 million viewers across its six games, the best average viewership since they acquired the NFL package in 1998.
20.4 million people watched the San Francisco 49ers 32-19 win over the New York Jets on 'Monday Night Football' which aired on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN+. MNF was the only viewership number that decreased, but that is likely due to DirecTV customers being unable to watch Disney-owned networks.
The NFL had its most successful Week 1 and will look to see how those numbers affect their Week 2 viewership.
CHECK OUT MORE TOP STORIES FROM THE BIG LEAD!
NFL: Jerry Jones hints Dak’s contract will lead to Super Bowl
NBA: Russell Westbrook’s 3-point shooting destroyed by analyst
Sports Media: ESPN and NBC expressing interest in hiring Charles Barkley