Football returned Thursday night in Canton. So did a crowd NBC Sports hadn’t seen in years for the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.
What We Know: NBC’s Panthers-Cardinals broadcast drew 6.99 million viewers Thursday, the network’s Hall of Fame Game audience since 2021. That year, Cowboys-Steelers pulled 7.33 million on FOX Sports. It’s also NBC’s best Hall of Fame number since 2017, when Cowboys-Cardinals drew 8.3 million. This year’s total edged last year’s Chargers-Lions game (6.90 million) by just over 1%.
What The Numbers Show: (Last Four Years Viewership)
| Year | Viewership (Average) |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 6.99 million |
| 2025 | 6.90 million |
| 2024 | 5.2 million |
| 2023 | 5.9 million |
What Remains Unclear: NBC Sports didn’t details viewership on broadcast versus Peacock streaming.
What It Means: Even with the uptick, this year’s audience trails the pre-2017 era badly. The last Sunday night edition in 2015, averaged 11.0 million on NBC. Since the move to Thursday nights, only two broadcasts have topped 7 million, and both featured the Cowboys. Thursday’s number is a win by recent standards, but the ceiling remains far below previous years on weekend dates.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.