NFL Ratings Soaring, but Is Peacock Game Skewing Numbers?

NFL viewership is up heading into Week 3 of the regular season. By how much? That depends on how you look at it.

Through two weeks of action, the average viewership of all NFL games is 18.7 million, 8% higher than the average audience during the first two weeks of the 2023 season. 

However, this season included the league’s debut game in Brazil, an Eagles 34–29 win over the Packers, which was streamed exclusively on Peacock. That rare Friday night matchup in Week 1 drew 14.2 million viewers in prime time, including local over-the-air audiences in Philadelphia and Green Bay.

Since there’s no previous game window to compare that to, the NFL has been excluding it from its viewership reports. Without the Peacock game, NFL broadcasts are averaging 19.7 million viewers—up 12% compared to last season, and the second highest on record through two weeks.

So, the story around NFL viewership to start the season is positive, either up 8% or 12%—dealer’s choice. And as the weeks go on, the impact of the Peacock stream on overall NFL numbers will lessen.

Chiefs Still Reign Supreme

After the Chiefs opened the 2024 season with a 27–20 victory over the Ravens that drew an NFL kickoff game record of 28.9 million viewers on NBC, Kansas City delivered again in Week 2.

The Chiefs’ 26–25 last-second win over the Bengals garnered an audience of 27.9 million on CBS, which was the network’s most-watched September NFL game since 1998.

Rodgers, Cowboys in Spotlight

Week 3 begins Thursday night with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets hosting the Patriots in New York’s second of six prime-time contests in the first 11 weeks of the season. ESPN platforms averaged 20.4 million viewers for the first of those Jets national spotlights—a 32–19 loss at the 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 1.

On Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox and Tom Brady will get the Cowboys for the third consecutive week. The matchup against reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the surprisingly winless Ravens should draw another strong TV audience, especially with Dallas coming off a lopsided loss, adding to the drama. NBC gets another shot at the Chiefs, who visit the Falcons on Sunday night, with the added buzz that Taylor Swift might be in the house to watch.