NFL ratings: Big Week 1 numbers set pace, even as election headwinds loom

The Ravens-Chiefs season opener was one of the most-watched regular season games ever. (AP Photo/Ed Zurga)

In a clear demonstration of the enduring ratings power of live sports, the NFL has posted massive numbers in its return to America’s TVs, phones and other screens. The new season, a new high-profile analyst and a new night all combined to set ratings records across the board for the league.

The 2024 NFL season began on Thursday night with the traditional Ravens-Chiefs kickoff game on NBC, which drew 29.2 million viewers. That’s the largest NFL Kickoff audience ever, and NBC’s second-largest regular season audience ever, after a Washington-Dallas Week 17 game in 2012 that drew 30.3 million viewers.

In a rare Friday night game, NBC’s Peacock streaming channel averaged 14.0 million viewers for Eagles-Packers from Brazil. That’s the second-largest audience ever to watch a live event on Peacock, after last season’s AFC wild-card game. The figure nearly doubled last December’s Bills-Chargers game, which drew 7.3 million viewers.

The debut of Tom Brady on Fox drew a massive number: 23.8 million viewers, a 46 percent increase over last year’s comparable game. However, it’s worth noting that CBS did not televise a national game in the comparable slot this year. CBS’ “singleheader” — the one game it broadcast on Sunday, which varied by region — drew an average of 17.8 million viewers, up 28 percent from the same slot last year.

On Sunday night, the Lions’ overtime victory over the Rams averaged 22.7 million viewers for NBC, a slight uptick from last year’s 22.0 million to watch Cowboys-Giants.

A reminder: Ratings in and of themselves don’t need to concern viewers; we’re long past the point of using ratings to make political or social justice arguments. However, the fact that ratings outside the traditional Sunday-Monday night schedule — and, more importantly, ratings on streaming and subscription-only channels — remain strong will…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-10 14:19:05

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