The first week of the NFL season has just wrapped and it appears that the networks made a wise move in continuing their relationship with the league.
CBS averaged 17.4 million viewers in the 1pm ET window, leading the ratings charge. That game featured an overtime matchup between the Steelers-Bengals. CBS said the total viewership they got was the most they had seen since 1998 and it was a jump of 21% from last year’s comparable window. CBS also noted that it averaged 17.0 million viewers for its Week 1 doubleheader, the best mark for the company in four years.
FOX was also very pleased with its opening offering. The network earned 18.5 million viewers for the Packers-Vikings game in the 4:25pm ET window. That represented a 12% increase from the comparable window last year. In the 1pm ET regional window, FOX snagged 12.1 million viewers. That was also up, this time 7% from 2021. FOX averaged 15.3 million viewers for its doubleheader which was an increase of 11% from Week 1 in 2021.
NBC’s Sunday Night Football return averaged 25.1 million viewers as Tampa Bay beat Dallas 19-3. NBC also reported 1.65 million streamed the game on Peacock. It was the most-streamed Sunday night game on record.
