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Although the Sunday afternoon matchup between the Green Bay Packers and San Francisco 49ers never involved any lead changes from Lambeau Field, the game drew strong viewership on FOX. The network reported that an average of 25.2 million viewers tuned in to the matchup on Sunday, rendering the most-watched telecast of the week on any network. Play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt, analyst Tom Brady and sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Tom Rinaldi were on the call for the NFC matchup. The Packers attained a 28-point victory over the 49ers, the largest win against the 49ers in franchise history, and starting quarterback Jordan Love threw for 163 yards and two touchdowns.
On the season as a whole, America’s Game of the Week is averaging 25.3 million viewers, representative of a 9% year-over-year increase, according to data from Nielsen Media Research. This accounts for the strongest viewership performance by the broadcast property since 2016 and builds off momentum created leading up to Super Bowl LIX.
The NFL on FOX is in the midst of its 30th year broadcasting the National Football League, largely showcasing NFC matchups on a weekly basis. FOX Corporation is currently in the second season of a 10-year media rights deal with the NFL reportedly worth $2.25 billion annually. The company will present a broadcast of the NFC Championship Game leading up to the Super Bowl in New Orleans, La. early next year. Furthermore, FOX will begin new media rights deals with NASCAR, INDYCAR and the Big 12 Conference next year as well.
In early October, a Super Bowl rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers averaged 27.1 million viewers on FOX, which was indicative of an 11% improvement from the same week in the previous year. Both matchups were preceded by FOX NFL Sunday featuring Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, Rob Gronkowski and Jay Glazer. Recent data from Nielsen Media Research demonstrates that the FOX Corporation generated the fifth-highest share of aggregated television usage in the month of October.
