NFL TV Ratings Up Big on Major Networks, but There’s a Caveat

NFL TV ratings are trending up this season—by way of the league’s traditional measures, at least. However, the impact of the NFL’s continued media evolution is still taking its toll when it comes to viewers.

Game broadcasts are averaging 17.3 million viewers, NFL Media’s X account posted, which is the highest figure through Week 10 since 2015—but with a big asterisk. That number doesn’t include viewership from international games on NFL Network or exclusive streaming broadcasts on Peacock and ESPN+, which is a total of six games.

While it is unclear exactly how much those excluded games are impacting the NFL’s overall TV ratings, here is what we do know:

• An Oct. 21 Chargers-Cardinals exclusive stream on ESPN+ reportedly drew 1.8 million viewers. The game was the back half of a Monday Night Football doubleheader that included Ravens-Buccaneers on ABC and ESPN.
• The Packers-Eagles game in Brazil drew 14.2 million viewers on Peacock, which made it difficult to compare Week 1 viewership to previous seasons.
• At least one London game (Jaguars-Bears) was up in viewership compared to the same 2023 window on NFL Network, and at least one (Jets-Vikings) was down. Both contests drew just under five million viewers.

The New Normal

This NFL season has been marked by a record four streaming services exclusively airing games—with Netflix’s pair of Christmas Day matchups still to come—and a revamped MNF strategy that includes more simulcasting on ABC but also four doubleheaders.

The Commanders and Eagles kick off Week 11 on Thursday night, as prime-time games on Amazon Prime Video are up 7% compared to 2023, averaging 13.08 million viewers. That’s a record for the streamer, which took over Thursday Night Football in 2022, but still down from the 16.2 million viewers that TNF games averaged on linear TV channels during the 2021 season on Fox and the NFL Network.

On Sunday, CBS will expect a big rating for the potential game of the year as the Bills (8–2) look to knock off the undefeated Chiefs in Buffalo. It’s also a revenge game for the Bills, whose season has been ended by Kansas City in three of the last four years.