• Loading stock data...
Sunday, October 5, 2025

NFL Ratings Surge in September With Chiefs in Four of Top Five Games

  • The 4–0 Chiefs start takes up all but one spot on the top five most-watched games.
  • Through four weeks, the NFL is averaging more viewers than it has since 2015.
Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The NFL retained its nine-year viewership high through Week 4 of the regular season, and the Chiefs took another notch away from the Cowboys as the league’s most-watched team.

In September, NFL games averaged 17.9 million viewers (not including the Week 1 Peacock exclusive), which is up 4% compared to the first four weeks of the 2023 season. The NFL was up 10% year over year after three weeks. That was its best average audience since 2015, which is still the case through four weeks.

The most-watched game of Week 4 was Kansas City’s 17–10 win over the Chargers, which drew 24.2 million viewers on CBS and booted Cowboys-Browns out of the five highest NFL audiences this season. All four Chiefs broadcasts are now in the top five. 

Cowboys-Ravens still holds the No. 3 spot with 27.3 million viewers. And it should be noted that Dallas was responsible for Amazon Prime Video’s record Thursday Night Football stream in Week 4, as 17.61 million people tuned in to the 20–15 win over the NFC East rival Giants.

Monday Night Special

The results are in from back-to-back weeks of Monday Night Football doubleheaders.

When those two-for-one prime-time spotlights take place on ABC and ESPN, neither game draws as large an audience as it would on its own, but a good metric to look at is the roughly two-hour window when the matchups with staggered starts overlap.

During Weeks 3 and 4, the average viewership during the overlapping portions of MNF games was 19.65 million. That’s down nearly 10% from two early-season MNF doubleheaders in 2023, which averaged 21.83 million viewers during their combined periods. 

This year’s doubleheaders featured Titans-Dolphins and Seahawks-Lions on Monday and Bills-Jaguars and Commanders-Bengals last week. Last year had Saints-Panthers and Steelers-Browns in Week 2, and Eagles-Buccaneers and Bengals-Rams in Week 3.

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Bad Bunny, U.S. Officials Trade Barbs Over Super Bowl Halftime Show

DHS Secretary Noem attacks the choice, while Bad Bunny responds on SNL.

CFB’s New Parity Era: Penn State, Texas Top-25 Exits Signal Shift

Penn State and Texas fall entirely out of the top-25 rankings.

Mark Sanchez Faces Three Charges After Indy Stabbing Incident 

Mark Sanchez is charged after being stabbed in Indianapolis altercation.

Fox Analyst Mark Sanchez Arrested After Violent Incident in Indy

Sanchez was “arrested for” three misdemeanors, but has not been charged.

Featured Today

Paul Cartier

Sports Organists Are Still Thriving in the Era of Raucous Arena Music

“When they walk out and they see a real organ guy, it’s like, ‘Wow.’”
Sep 27, 2025; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Milwaukee Brewers center fielder Jackson Chourio (11) rounds the bases after hitting a home run during the sixth inning against the Cincinnati Reds at American Family Field.
October 4, 2025

Milwaukee Moneyball: Brewers Are Beating MLB’s Deeper Pockets

Milwaukee is holding its own against big-budget competitors.
Kōloa Rum Company Rum Rusher
September 27, 2025

Panthers Bubbly, Jets Wine, Manning Whiskey: The Sports Booze Boom

A sommelier dives into the sports booze trend—and tries Jets wine.
Nov 17, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers fans wave Terrible Towels against the Baltimore Ravens during the fourth quarter at Acrisure Stadium
September 26, 2025

Steelers’ Irish Roots Are Deeper Than NFL Dublin Game

The Steelers have history and the foundation for a future in Ireland.
Sep 27, 2025; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Josh McCray (2) runs against Alabama Crimson Tide linebacker Nikhai Hill-Green (41) and defensive back Keon Sabb (3) in the second half at Sanford Stadium.
exclusive

College Football Viewership Is Up Double Digits. Here’s Why

Average game viewership is up by more than 10% so far.
Georgia Bulldogs quarterback Gunner Stockton (14) throws the ball during the first half of a NCAA college football game against Alabama in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, September 27, 2025.
October 1, 2025

Alabama-Georgia Draws 10.4M Viewers, Drives Record CFB Season Pace

ABC drew 10.4 million viewers for Alabama-Georgia.
The NBC Sports broadcast team works Michigan State's football game against Boston College on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing.
October 2, 2025

NBC Sports, Peacock Stay on YouTube TV With Long-Term Deal

The broad-based agreement keeps NBC channels with the key distributor.
Sponsored

How Soccer Star Jozy Altidore Became a Buffalo Bills Owner

Jozy Altidore discusses building a business legacy off the field.
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Christian Watson (9) pulls down a touchdown reception against Dallas Cowboys cornerback DaRon Bland (26) in the fourth quarter during their football game Sunday, November 13, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis.
September 24, 2025

Packers-Cowboys Game Is Getting Super Bowl–Like NBC Treatment

The network will bring its pregame show to Dallas.
Sep 18, 2025; College Park, Georgia, USA; Indiana Fever forward Aliyah Boston (7) reacts as the Fever defeat the Atlanta Dream during game three of round one for the 2025 WNBA Playoffs at Gateway Center Arena at College Park.
September 19, 2025

Fever Upset of Dream Brings Ratings Boost to WNBA Semis

The Indiana Fever will face the Las Vegas Aces in the semifinals.
September 17, 2025

Fever Ratings Fall Without Clark, but Rest of WNBA Game 1s Surge

The Indiana Fever game drew 47% fewer viewers this year.
Sep 14, 2025; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith (6) makes a reception defended by Kansas City Chiefs cornerback Trent McDuffie (22) during the fourth quarter of the game at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium.
September 16, 2025

Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl Rematch Sets Early NFL TV Ratings Mark

Several new milestones are established with the big early-season matchup.