NFL viewership is up 4% year over year heading into Week 8 this coming weekend. Moreover, games are averaging 18.4 million viewers, the league’s best mark through Week 7 since 2015.
What We Know: That average also ranks as the third-best figure on record at this point in a season. Meanwhile, Week 7 alone averaged 18.1 million viewers. That was the best Week 7 since 2014. Additionally, it was a 17% jump from the same week last season. In addition, the 2026 NFL Paris Game & related programming reached 10.6 million viewers across the country on France TV. Moreover, NFL programs rank as the top 40 shows on TV since start of the season.
What’s At Stake: According to data from Sports Business Journal, CBS Sports is averaging 19.2 million viewers across all of its games, a record pace for the network. Games across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2 and NFL Network are averaging 19 million viewers this season. Prime Video’s current season-to-date average is 17.7 million, which is 12% ahead of last year’s six-game average (15.84M). FOX Sports has also seen some gains year over year.
What Remains Unclear: Whether or not the NFL slate will continue at this pace deep into the holiday calendar.
What It Means: It should be noted that ESPN’s decision to eliminate overlapping Monday Night Football games appears to be paying off for the network. One destination, one game is working well on all fronts in a big year for the network. Ultimately, the league’s audience growth is spreading across nearly every partner.
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