The NFL’s dominance of the television landscape remained unquestioned during the 2025–26 regular season. However, a closer look at the numbers shows how FOX Sports, CBS Sports, and NBC Sports each carved out distinct wins across broadcast windows, franchises, and platforms.
CBS Sports finished the regular season as the most-watched NFL broadcast partner overall, averaging 21.252 million viewers, according to Nielsen. That figure marked the network’s best regular season on record and represented an 11 percent increase from last year. The NFL on CBS also delivered the most-watched program in all of television, with its 4:25 p.m. ET national window averaging 25.827 million viewers for the third consecutive season.
The network’s Thanksgiving Day matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys set a new benchmark with 57.231 million viewers. It became the most-watched regular-season NFL game in league history. CBS Sports accounted for four of the season’s seven most-watched games. Meanwhile, Paramount+ delivered its most-streamed NFL regular season to date.
FOX Sports also posted its strongest regular-season performance in nearly a decade. The network averaged 19.633 million viewers for its NFL broadcasts, up six percent from last season and its best mark since 2015. FOX’s America’s Game of the Week averaged 25.283 million viewers, likewise its strongest performance since 2015, reinforcing the network’s standing as a destination for marquee NFC matchups.
Beyond the games, FOX continued to dominate NFL studio programming. FOX NFL Sunday averaged 4.445 million viewers, ranking as television’s No. 1 NFL pregame show for the 32nd consecutive year. FOX NFL Kickoff saw the largest year-over-year growth among the network’s NFL properties, rising 11 percent to an average of 1.346 million viewers.
NBC Sports once again owned the primetime conversation. Sunday Night Football averaged a record 23.5 million viewers across NBC and Peacock. It marked the show’s most-watched season ever. The figure represented a nine percent increase from last year. SNF is pacing to finish as primetime’s No. 1 program for an unprecedented 15th consecutive season.
The package delivered eight games averaging more than 25 million viewers, setting a new record. Peacock led NBC’s digital growth with a record Average Minute Audience of 2.5 million viewers. NBC’s Ravens-Steelers Week 18 finale averaged 25.5 million viewers. It underscored the league’s ability to turn late-season matchups into high-stakes television events.
Collectively, the numbers highlight how the NFL continues to fuel broadcast television, even as viewing habits fragment. FOX, CBS, and NBC each leveraged distinct strengths, from national windows to studio programming and streaming, reaffirming the league’s unmatched value to its media partners.
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