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According to a report from the Sports Business Journal, viewership for NFL Football through the first six weeks of the season are up slightly at .5% over last year. Overall, the league is averaging 17.4 million viewers per game. The report states this is the best number through six weeks since 2015.
That is especially significant given that it is an election year and in previous election years, there has been more of a shift from sports to news.
According to the research done, FOX Sports is up 7%, with its best numbers since 2019. The national 4:25 p.m. ET window is helping with a 25.1 million viewership average. This week that window will feature a Super Bowl rematch between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs which is expected to draw at least that number.
CBS is up 4% compared to this time last year, averaging 18.448 million while FOX Sports is right behind at 18.428 million. Prime Video is also up, as it is averaging 13,984 million for Thursday Night Football, an increase of 3% from last season.
Meanwhile the report shows both NBC and ESPN are down from last season, with NBC averaging 22.6 million viewers for Sunday Night Football, which is down 2% from an average of 23 million a year ago. ESPN is down overall by 11% for Monday Night Football year to date. Initially the plan was to do less simulcasts on ABC but that changed recently when six additional broadcasts were added.
The reports show The ManningCast on ESPN2 with Peyton and Eli Manning, is down 14% through four shows with an average audience of 1.1 million.
