FOX Sports turned in historic numbers for its NFL coverage in Week 2, smashing all-time viewership records behind a Super Bowl rematch between the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
The national broadcast of America’s Game of the Week drew 33.8 million viewers, making it FOX’s most-watched regular season Sunday telecast ever, according to Nielsen Media Research. It also became the most-watched Week 2 NFL telecast on record, the most-viewed September or October game ever, and the most-watched broadcast of any kind since February’s Super Bowl.
The broadcast represented a 21 percent increase from last year’s comparable Week 2 matchup, which drew 27.9 million viewers. The Eagles’ win over the Chiefs was the centerpiece of FOX’s record-setting NFL Sunday. But the success stretched across the network’s entire slate of programming.
FOX’s Week 2 doubleheader averaged 26.9 million viewers, the most-watched doubleheader on any network in NFL history. Its early afternoon regional window delivered 20.7 million viewers. The network’s strongest regional performance since 1994 and a staggering 45 percent jump from the comparable window last year.
Meanwhile, FOX NFL Sunday posted 5.5 million viewers, its best showing since 2019. Altogether, FOX is averaging 23.8 million viewers season-to-date. The best start in its history and up 27 percent from last year’s average of 18.7 million.
For advertisers and network executives, the record-setting day underscores the NFL’s continued dominance as television’s premier live property. Live NFL telecasts remain unrivaled in their ability to deliver mass audiences across broadcast TV.
The success also reflects the impact of marquee matchups as Sunday’s game carried both star power and narrative intrigue. Storylines of a potential Super Bowl preview and the rematch factor helped elevate interest and produced the type of audience networks dream about.
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