NFL 2024 Season Debuts with Record-Breaking Television Ratings

The National Football League (NFL) has started its 2024 season on a high note, garnering an average of 21.0 million viewers per game during the first week. This represents the most-watched opening week in NFL history, according to data released by Nielsen and the league on Wednesday. The figure, combining both TV and digital viewership, reflects a 12% increase from the previous year.

Exceptional Viewership Numbers

The first week of the NFL season was viewed by an impressive total of 123 million people, making it the highest ever number of viewers for an opening week since 2019. “We’re thrilled with the viewership numbers. It’s fantastic to be back, and there’s so much to look forward to,” stated Hans Schroeder, the Executive Vice President of NFL Media.

The Most-Watched Games

NBC won the viewership race with the most-watched season opener, a thrilling match between the defending Super Bowl champions, the Chiefs, who edged out the Ravens 27-20. The game attracted an average of 29.2 million viewers across TV and digital platforms, making it NBC’s second-largest regular-season game viewership since acquiring the “Sunday Night Football” package in 2006.

Tom Brady’s Analyst Debut and Other Highlights

The Cowboys’ 33-17 victory over the Browns, which marked Tom Brady’s first appearance as Fox’s lead analyst, attracted an average viewership of 23.93 million. Fox’s six-game doubleheader averaged 18.64 million, marking the network’s strongest start since 2020.

Viewership Success across Networks

Both CBS and Fox aired two games each on the opening Sunday, a departure from the past three seasons. CBS saw an average of 17.79 million viewers across its six games – the network’s best opening week since reclaiming NFL rights in 1998.

Historic Friday Night Game Attracts Millions

The NFL’s first Friday night game in over half a century, where the Eagles triumphed over the Packers 34-29, averaged 14.0 million viewers on Peacock and NBC affiliates in Philadelphia, Green Bay, and Milwaukee. The game was the second-most viewed live event in Peacock’s four-year history, following the previous season’s AFC wildcard game between Kansas City and Miami.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football

Despite a carriage dispute with Disney preventing most DirecTV customers from tuning in, “Monday Night Football” on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN+ still managed to draw an average of 20.4 million viewers for the 49ers’ 32-19 victory over the Jets.

Schroeder expressed satisfaction with the overall performance, “The viewing figures surpassed our expectations. It was a great start for us, especially on a new night and window.”