• Loading stock data...
Friday, September 12, 2025
Tuned In is Almost Sold Out! Limited Tickets Remain!

NFL Caps Dominate Regular Season (Again), This Time up 7% in Ratings

  • The league continues to grow its TV stature while the rest of the broadcast landscape shrinks.
  • Gains are also achieved in several key demographic segments.
Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL concluded its 2023 regular season in much the same fashion as it began: with the league in a dominant position and only getting stronger.

The league averaged 17.9 million viewers per game across all networks for the regular season, up by 7% from a year ago and the NFL’s best figure since 2015. In addition to the aggregate viewership bump, each of the league’s domestic rights-holders showed growth from 2022:

  • Amazon: Up 24% to an average of 11.86 million for Thursday Night Football.
  • CBS: Up 5% to an average of 19.35 million for overall coverage and an average of 24.64 million for late Sunday afternoon games. CBS also had the season’s most-watched game with an average of 41.76 million for the Washington-Dallas game on Thanksgiving.
  • ESPN: Up 29% to an average of 17.4 million for Monday Night Football.
  • Fox: Up 2% to an average of 24.62 million for its America’s Game of the Week national broadcasts. The network was down 2% overall to 19 million for its NFL coverage.
  • NBC: Up 8% to an average of 21.4 million for Sunday Night Football

The league’s viewership improvement is the result of several factors, including weaker overall broadcast primetime performance due to the writers’ and actors’ strikes, better scheduling that allowed for top contests in national windows, a heightened emphasis on Christmas Day, and additional exposure of ESPN’s Monday Night Football on sister broadcast network ABC. 

The NFL’s rating growth contrasts sharply with a comparable 16% drop in overall broadcast primetime viewership to a record-low figure of 2.8 million, with that figure owing heavily to a decrease in original entertainment programming due to the strikes. So while the rest of the broadcast landscape is shrinking, the NFL continues to build its audience. 

The NFL also showed improvement in several, more-specific measures including female viewership, which rose 9% to its highest level since that record keeping began in 2000, as well as the best levels of viewership in the under-35 demographic since 2019. The league further flexed its television prowess by claiming 93 of Nielsen’s top 100 broadcasts in 2023. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Ohio State Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese (8) pursues Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning (16) during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium on Aug. 30, 2025.

College Football Enters Week 3 Up 21% in TV Ratings

Total college football viewership across all networks is up big.
Sep 8, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (22) runs to first base during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park.

The $339 Million Mets Are in Jeopardy of Missing the Playoffs

The Mets’ wild-card lead is 1.5 games with 15 remaining in the regular season.
opinion

19 Rising Stars in Sports Media

Who are sports media’s rising stars? Here’s an inside look.

UEFA Delays Overseas Matches Ruling As LaLiga Miami Game Looms

Barcelona-Villarreal is scheduled for late December at Hard Rock Stadium.

Featured Today

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Could Set More NFL Ratings Records

Fox will nationally televise Sunday afternoon’s matchup.
September 10, 2025

ESPN’s ‘MNF’ Ratings Up 8% As NFL Surges to Strong Start

ESPN posts its second-best Week 1 “Monday Night Football” audience.
Sep 7, 2025; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills fans react during the fourth quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at Highmark Stadium.
September 9, 2025

As Bills Ascend, Their Next Frontier Lies in Canada

Buffalo and the powerful Canadian entity MLSE come together in a new pact.
opinion
September 9, 2025

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly from NFL’s Week 1 Broadcasts

Many viewers decried the addition of ads to “NFL RedZone.”
Sep 6, 2025; Boulder, Colorado, USA; General view of a Fox Sports camera station before the game between the Delaware Fightin Blue Hens against the Colorado Buffaloes at Folsom Field.

Lachlan Murdoch on Fox’s Sports Strategy, FanDuel Plans

The executive calls a forthcoming streaming bundle with ESPN “essential” for fans.
September 4, 2025

TNT Sports to Try Its Own Streaming App After WBD Split

TNT Sports will have its own app as a corporate split approaches.
September 5, 2025

NFL’s Expected Early-Season Ratings Boost Gets Off to a Stormy Start

The kickoff game somewhat resembles the delays last year in an SNF game.
Sponsored

How World Series Champ Dexter Fowler Became a Premier League Team Owner

Dexter Fowler discusses navigating retirement and embracing new roles as an owner & investor.
Eagles
September 4, 2025

The Death of Streameast Has Been Greatly Exaggerated

Mirror sites began popping up Thursday, the day the NFL season begins.
September 4, 2025

3 ABC Games Top 10M Viewers Each in ESPN’s Record CFB Weekend

Miami–Notre Dame led the way with 10.8 million viewers.
September 4, 2025

Bill Belichick’s UNC Debut Draws More Than 6M Viewers on ESPN

TCU-UNC was the fifth-most-watched college football game of Week 1.
September 3, 2025

Ohio State–Texas Showdown Was Most-Watched Week 1 CFB Game Ever

Fox drew 16.62 million viewers on Saturday afternoon.