NFL ratings and viewership for every game of the 2017 season, compared to last year. Streaming and adults 18-49 numbers listed when available.
To jump to a specific week, click one of these links: Super Bowl ratings, Pro Bowl Conference Championships, Divisional Round, Wild Card Weekend, Week 17, Week 16, Week 15, Week 14, Week 13, Week 12, Week 11, Week 10, Week 9, Week 8, Week 7, Week 6, Week 5, Week 4, Week 3, Week 2, Week 1, Preseason. Previous year’s NFL ratings are here: 2016, 2015, 2014. For analysis of NFL ratings, check here.
Data from various sources, including ShowBuzz Daily, Sports Business Daily, Programming Insider, and network PR. For regional action, featured game (and percent of markets receiving said game) listed where available. TNF — Thursday Night Football, SNF — Sunday Night Football, MNF — Monday Night Football, DH — Doubleheader, Single — Singleheader.
Super Bowl Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| SB52 | PHI-NE | NBC | 43.1 | -5% | 103.39M (106M) | -7% | 33.4 |
Pro Bowl Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Pro Bowl | AFC-NFC | ESPN ABC | 5.3 | +26% | (8.6M) | +14% | 2.4 |
NFL Conference Championship Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Early | JAX-NE | CBS | 24.3 | -3% | 44.082M | -5% | 12.7 |
| Late | MIN-PHI | FOX | 21.7 | -11% | 42.298M (42.766M) | -12% | 13.4 |
NFL Divisional Round Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late Sun. | NO-MIN | FOX | 19.3 | -26% | 35.645M (36.021M) | -27% | 10.6 |
| Early Sun. | JAX-PIT | CBS | 18.3 | -8% | 31.447M | -15% | 8.9 |
| Early Sat. | ATL-PHI | NBC | 15.5 | -4% | 27.070M | -6% | 7.6 |
| Late Sat. | TEN-NE | CBS | 14.5 | -9% | 26.690M | -10% | 7.9 |
NFL Wild Card Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late Sun. | CAR-NO | FOX | 17.5 | -18% | 31.150M | -21% | 9.2 |
| Early Sun. | BUF-JAX | CBS | 15.15 | -13% | 25.295M | -15% | 7.1 |
| Late Sat. | ATL-LAR | NBC | 12.8 | -14% | 22.815M | -15% | 7.0 |
| Early Sat. | TEN-KC | ESPN ABC | 13.0 | -10% | (22.175M) | -12% | 6.2 |
Highest NFL Ratings, Viewership of Season
| TOP TEN GAMES Viewership is TV-only | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Highest Rated | Most-Watched | ||||||||
| # | Date | Game | Net | Rtg. | # | Date | Game | Net | Vwrs. |
| 1 | 12/17 | NE-PIT (91%) | CBS | 15.2 | 1 | 12/17 | NE-PIT (91%) | CBS | 26.88M |
| 2 | 9/17 | DAL-DEN (81%) | FOX | 14.3 | 2 | 11/23 | LAC-DAL | CBS | 26.28M |
| 3 | 12/10 | PHI-LAR (90%) | FOX | 13.7 | 3 | 9/17 | DAL-DEN (81%) | FOX | 25.97M |
| 4 | 10/8 | GB-DAL | FOX | 13.6 | 4 | 11/23 | MIN-DET | FOX | 24.74M |
| 5 | 9/10 | NYG-DAL | NBC | 13.4 | 5 | 9/10 | NYG-DAL | NBC | 24.37M |
| 6 | 11/12 | DAL-ATL (86%) | FOX | 12.8 | 6 | 10/8 | GB-DAL | FOX | 23.86M |
| T7 | 10/29 | DAL-WSH | FOX | 12.7 | 7 | 12/10 | PHI-LAR (90%) | FOX | 23.78M |
| 9/10 | SEA-GB (89%) | FOX | 12.7 | 8 | 12/24 | SEA-DAL (87%) | FOX | 23.02M | |
| 9 | 9/7 | KC-NE | NBC | 12.6 | 9 | 9/10 | SEA-GB (89%) | FOX | 22.80M |
| 10 | 11/5 | KC-DAL | CBS | 12.5 | 10 | 10/29 | DAL-WSH | FOX | 22.02M |
Week 17 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | CAR-ATL (72%) | FOX | 11.45 | -7% | 20.775M | -7% | 5.5 |
| Late DH | CIN-BAL (31%) | CBS | 8.7 | +28% | 15.602M | +29% | 4.2 |
| Early DH | CHI-MIN (61%) | FOX | 7.9 | -18% | 13.589M | -20% | 3.4 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 6.6 | -28% | 11.209M | -32% | 2.9 |
Week 16 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH* | SEA-DAL (87%) | FOX | 12.2 | +51% | 23.027M | +49% | 6.3 |
| Special^ | PIT-HOU | NBC, NFLN, Amazon | 8.0 | +23% | 16.918M (17.1M) | +15% | 4.6 |
| Single* | NE-BUF (42%) | CBS | 8.9 | +16% | 15.814M | +11% | 4.1 |
| SNF** | MIN-GB | NBC | 8.4 | -21% | 15.287M | -29% | 4.1 |
| Early DH* | ATL-NO (45%) | FOX | 6.9 | -31% | 12.405M | -33% | 3.3 |
| Special | OAK-PHI | ESPN | 5.9 | -42% | (11.735M) | -38% | 3.5 |
| Special‡ | IND-BAL | NFLN | 3.1 | -3% | 5.395M | -14% | 1.5 |
| * Last year’s CBS/FOX games aired on a Saturday ** SNF aired on a Saturday; last year’s game aired on a Sunday ^ Last year’s game aired on NFL Network alone ‡ Afternoon game; last year’s game aired in primetime | |||||||
Week 15 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | NE-PIT (91%) | CBS | 15.2 | +6% | 26.883M | +8% | 7.5 |
| SNF | DAL-OAK | NBC | 11.1 | -18% | 19.191M | -21% | 5.9 |
| Single | GB-CAR | FOX | 10.6 | -2% | 18.053M | -3% | 5.0 |
| TNF | DEN-IND | NBC, NFLN, Amazon | 6.5 | -39% | 10.638M (10.9M) | -41% | 2.9 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 6.0 | -32% | 9.913M | -34% | 2.7 |
| MNF | ATL-TB | ESPN | 5.7 | -16% | (9.411M) | -18% | 3.1 |
| Special | LAC-KC | NFLN | 4.0 | +60% | 6.993M | +59% | 2.1 |
| Special | CHI-DET | NFLN | 3.1 | — | 5.177M | — | 1.5 |
| * TNF compared to final CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 16) | |||||||
Week 14 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | PHI-LAR (90%) | FOX | 13.7 | -5% | 23.784M | -6% | 6.9 |
| SNF | BAL-PIT | NBC | 10.1 | -32% | 17.200M (17.4M) | -35% | 5.4 |
| Early DH | DAL-NYG (66%) | FOX | 9.1 | +21% | 15.543M | +26% | 4.4 |
| TNF | NO-ATL | NBC, NFLN, Amazon | 8.9 | +1% | 14.606M (15.0M) | -0.3% | 4.3 |
| Single | Various | CBS | 8.15 | -27% | 13.886M | -27% | 3.9 |
| MNF | NE-MIA | ESPN | 7.2 | -8% | (11.782M) | -11% | 3.8 |
| * TNF compared to ninth CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 15) | |||||||
Week 13 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | CAR-NO (72%) | FOX | 12.0 | -18% | 20.218M | -20% | 5.9 |
| SNF | PHI-SEA | NBC | 11.3 | +11% | 19.693M (19.9M) | +11% | 6.4 |
| TNF* | WSH-DAL | NBC, NFLN, Amazon | 9.4 | -10% | 15.598M (16.0M) | -10% | 4.7 |
| Single | Various | CBS | 9.1 | -16% | 15.127M | -18% | 4.1 |
| Early DH | MIN-ATL (62%) | FOX | 6.8 | -7% | 11.170M | -9% | 3.4 |
| MNF | PIT-CIN | ESPN | 6.7 | +34% | (10.844M) | +30% | 3.5 |
| * TNF compared to eighth CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 14) | |||||||
Week 12 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Special | LAC-DAL | CBS | 11.1 | -23% | 26.277M | -25% | n.a. |
| Special | MIN-DET | FOX | 11.4 | -12% | 24.736M | -10% | n.a. |
| Late DH | NO-LAR (82%) | CBS | 11.6 | -12% | 19.901M | -15% | 5.6 |
| SNF | GB-PIT | NBC | 11.0 | +3% | 18.954M (19.0M) | +3% | 6.0 |
| Special | NYG-WSH | NBC | 8.2 | -19% | 16.905M (17.0M) | -19% | 5.1 |
| Single | CHI-PHI (44%) | FOX | 8.9 | -9% | 15.361M | -9% | 4.5 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 6.5 | -14% | 10.910M | -15% | 3.0 |
| MNF | HOU-BAL | ESPN | 5.1 | -35% | (8.270M) | -38% | 2.7 |
Week 11 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| SNF | DAL-PHI | NBC | 11.9 | +10% | 21.059M (21.2M) | +12% | 7.0 |
| Late DH | NE-OAK (86%) | CBS | 10.9 | -20% | 19.026M | -22% | 5.8 |
| Single | WSH-NO (33%) | FOX | 9.4 | +12% | 15.708M | +10% | 4.6 |
| TNF* | TEN-PIT | NBC, NFLN, Amazon | 8.2 | -36% | 13.513M (13.8M) | -38% | 4.2 |
| MNF | ATL-SEA | ESPN | 6.4 | -7% | (10.758M) | -12% | 3.5 |
| Early DH | KC-NYG (45%) | CBS | 6.5 | -36% | 10.709M | -39% | 3.0 |
| * TNF compared to seventh CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 13) | |||||||
Week 10 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | DAL-ATL (86%) | FOX | 12.8 | -22% | 21.963M | -24% | 6.4 |
| SNF | NE-DEN | NBC | 10.2 | -20% | 17.510M (17.7M) | -22% | 5.8 |
| TNF* | SEA-AZ | NBC, NFLN, Amazon | 7.9 | -2% | 13.101M (13.4M) | -2% | 4.0 |
| Early DH | MIN-WSH (45%) | FOX | 7.4 | -21% | 12.350M | -22% | 3.6 |
| Single | Various | CBS | 7.2 | -8% | 11.827M | -10% | 3.4 |
| MNF | MIA-CAR | ESPN | 5.4 | -19% | (8.758M) | [-18%] | 3.0 |
| * TNF compared to sixth CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 11) [ ] MNF compared to TV-only audience (TV+streaming unavailable) | |||||||
Week 9 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | KC-DAL | CBS | 12.5 | +7% | 21.681M | +8% | 6.6 |
| SNF | OAK-MIA | NBC | 8.55 | -18% | 14.360M (14.5M) | -22% | 4.9 |
| Single | ATL-CAR (37%) | FOX | 8.4 | -28% | 14.212M | -29% | 4.3 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 7.15 | +4% | 11.946M | +6% | 3.5 |
| MNF | DET-GB | ESPN | 6.8 | -1% | (11.083M) | -4% | 3.8 |
| TNF | BUF-NYJ | NFLN | 3.6 | even | 5.844M | even | 1.9 |
Week 8 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | DAL-WSH | FOX | 12.7 | -3% | 22.019M (22.151M) | -3% | 6.6 |
| Single | LAC-NE (48%) | CBS | 8.9 | -6% | 15.159M | -6% | 4.5 |
| SNF | PIT-DET | NBC | 8.0 | -22% | 13.862M (14.0M) | -23% | 4.8 |
| Early DH | CHI-NO (50%) | FOX | 7.3 | -5% | 12.444M | -3% | 3.6 |
| TNF* | MIA-BAL | CBS, NFLN, Amazon | 7.0 | -19% | 11.363M | -20% | 3.4 |
| MNF | DEN-KC | ESPN | 6.3 | -2% | (10.420M) | [-1%] | 3.5 |
| London** | MIN-CLE | NFLN | 2.1 | -11% | 3.453M | -7% | 1.3 |
| * TNF compared to fifth CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 7) ** Compared to last year’s London game on NFL Network (Week 7) [ ] MNF compared to TV-only audience (TV+streaming unavailable) | |||||||
Week 7 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | CIN-PIT (63%) | CBS | 11.3 | -10% | 19.849M | -8% | 6.0 |
| SNF | ATL-NE | NBC | 11.0 | +8% | 19.240M (19.4M) | +9% | 6.5 |
| Single | DAL-SF (36%) | FOX | 9.5 | -6% | 16.124M | -5% | 5.0 |
| TNF* | KC-OAK | CBS, NFLN, Amazon | 8.6 | -1% | 14.378M (14.9M) | -1% | 4.5 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 8.2 | +17% | 13.363M | +18% | 3.9 |
| MNF | WSH-PHI | ESPN | 6.9 | +3% | (11.275M) | [+1%] | 3.9 |
| * TNF compared to fourth CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 6) [ ] MNF compared to TV-only audience (TV+streaming unavailable) | |||||||
Week 6 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | PIT-KC (86%) | CBS | 12.0 | -24% | 20.593M | -26% | 6.2 |
| Single | GB-MIN (40%) | FOX | 9.4 | -8% | 16.197M | -6% | 5.1 |
| SNF | NYG-DEN | NBC | 9.4 | +16% | 16.158M | +19% | 5.6 |
| TNF* | PHI-CAR | CBS, NFLN, Amazon | 8.9 | +20% | 14.585M | +21% | 4.6 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 6.6 | -14% | 10.943M | -17% | 3.4 |
| MNF | IND-TEN | ESPN | 5.2 | even | (8.382M) | -3% | 2.9 |
| * TNF compared to third CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 5) | |||||||
Week 5 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | GB-DAL | FOX | 13.6 | +12% | 23.859M | +12% | 7.5 |
| SNF | KC-HOU | NBC | 9.5 | +2% | 16.528M (16.7M) | -1% | 5.8 |
| TNF* | NE-TB | CBS, NFLN, Amazon | 9.4 | -11% | 15.434M (16.0M) | -12% | 5.0 |
| Single | Various | CBS | 7.8 | -17% | 13.180M | -20% | 4.0 |
| Early DH | CAR-DET (50%) | FOX | 7.5 | -17% | 12.326M | -19% | 3.8 |
| MNF | MIN-CHI | ESPN | 6.1 | +9% | (10.281M) | [+14%] | 3.7 |
| * TNF compared to second CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 3) [ ] MNF compared to TV-only audience (TV+streaming unavailable) | |||||||
Week 4 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Single | LAR-DAL (32%) | FOX | 11.5 | +22% | 20.056M | +22% | 6.5 |
| SNF | IND-SEA | NBC | 9.6 | -7% | 16.731M (16.9M) | -7% | 5.8 |
| Late DH | OAK-DEN | CBS | 9.1 | -31% | 15.591M | -31% | 4.9 |
| TNF* | CHI-GB | CBS, NFLN, Amazon | 8.9 | -6% | 14.610M (15.1M) | -5% | 4.8 |
| MNF | WSH-KC | ESPN | 7.3 | -9% | (11.944) | [-9%] | 4.3 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 7.0 | +4% | 11.700M | +4% | 3.8 |
| London | NO-MIA | FOX | 4.0 | -17% | 6.403M | -17% | 2.3 |
| * TNF compared to first CBS/NBC simulcast last year (Week 2) [ ] MNF compared to TV-only audience (TV+streaming unavailable) | |||||||
Week 3 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | CIN-GB (80%) | CBS | 12.2 | -3% | 21.272M | -3% | 6.6 |
| SNF | OAK-WSH | NBC | 10.1 | -14% | 17.478M (17.6M) | -15% | 6.3 |
| Single | NYG-PHI (41%) | FOX | 9.2 | -17% | 15.431M | -19% | 4.9 |
| Early DH | Various | CBS | 8.4 | +5% | 14.414M | +10% | 4.6 |
| MNF | DAL-AZ | ESPN | 8.2 | +67% | 13.691M (13.8M) | +70% | 5.1 |
| TNF* | LAR-SF | NFLN | 4.4 | +38% | 7.448M | +47% | 2.8 |
| * TNF compared to NFLN’s second exclusive game last year (Week 8) | |||||||
Week 2 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| Late DH | DAL-DEN (81%) | FOX | 14.3 | +17% | 25.969M | +22% | 8.5 |
| SNF | GB-ATL | NBC | 11.3 | -11% | 20.237M | -11% | 7.1 |
| Single | Various | CBS | 8.4 | -24% | 14.515M | -24% | 4.7 |
| Early DH | PHI-KC (52%) | FOX | 7.9 | -7% | 13.515M | -6% | 4.4 |
| MNF | DET-NYG | ESPN | 7.4 | +1% | 12.287M (12.741M) | +1% | 4.3 |
| TNF* | HOU-CIN | NFLN | 4.9 | +2% | 8.080M | +2% | 3.1 |
| * TNF compared to NFLN’s first exclusive game last year (Week 4) | |||||||
Week 1 NFL Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| SNF | NYG-DAL | NBC | 13.4 | +2% | 24.366M | +6% | 9.1 |
| Late DH | SEA-GB (89%) | FOX | 12.7 | -18% | 22.796M | -17% | 7.6 |
| Kickoff | KC-NE | NBC | 12.6 | -14% | 21.791M (22.2M) | -13% | 7.7 |
| Single | Various | CBS | 7.6 | -18% | 13.337M | -17% | 4.4 |
| MNF | NO-MIN | ESPN | 6.8 | -12% | 11.392M | -12% | 4.2 |
| Early DH | PHI-WSH (51%) | FOX | 6.6 | -28% | 11.342M | -28% | 3.7 |
| MNF | LAC-DEN | ESPN | 6.0 | -3% | 9.938M | -3% | 3.9 |
NFL Preseason Ratings
| Window | Game | Net | Rtg. | +/- | Vwrs. (+ Stream) | +/- | A18-49 |
| HOF | DAL-AZ* | NBC | 5.0 | -24% | 8.247M (8.3M) | -23% | 2.5 |
| Aug. 27 | SF-MIN | NBC | 4.5 | +18% | 7.316M | +19% | 1.9 |
| Aug. 27 | CIN-WSH | FOX | 3.7 | -10% | 5.941M | -11% | 1.8 |
| Aug. 26 | KC-SEA | CBS | 3.2 | +19% | 5.224M | +29% | 1.4 |
| Aug. 27 | CHI-TEN | FOX | 3.0 | -9% | 4.786M | -8% | 1.4 |
| Aug. 21 | NYG-CLE* | ESPN | 2.3 | -21% | 3.574M | -15% | 1.2 |
| Aug. 17 | TB-JAX** | ESPN | 1.6 | -20% | 2.560M | -20% | 0.8 |
| Aug. 26 | LAC-LAR | CBS | 1.4 | -42% | 2.216M | -42% | 0.5 |
| Aug. 20 | ATL-PIT | NFLN | 1.3 | — | 2.093M | — | 0.7 |
| Aug. 11 | PIT-NYG | NFLN | 1.1 | +57% | 1.870M | +62% | 0.6 |
| Aug. 10 | DEN-CHI | NFLN | 1.1 | +38% | 1.825M | +41% | 0.6 |
| Aug. 13 | SEA-LAC | NFLN | 1.1 | +22% | 1.775M | +27% | 0.5 |
| Aug. 19 | IND-DAL | NFLN | 1.1 | +69% | 1.739M | +67% | 0.6 |
| Aug. 12 | DAL-LAR | NFLN | 1.1 | +57% | 1.733M | +84% | 0.6 |
| Aug. 20 | NO-LAC | NFLN | 1.0 | — | 1.606M | — | 0.5 |
| Aug. 9 | HOU-CAR | NFLN | 1.0 | — | 1.521M | — | 0.6 |
| Aug. 11 | SF-KC | NFLN | 0.9 | +50% | 1.382M | +50% | 0.5 |
| Aug. 24 | MIA-PHI | NFLN | 0.9 | — | 1.376M | — | 0.4 |
| Aug. 19 | DEN-SF | NFLN | 0.8 | +60% | 1.349M | +67% | 0.5 |
| Aug. 13 | DET-IND* | NFLN | 0.8 | -38% | 1.314M | -31% | 0.4 |
| Aug. 18 | MIN-SEA | NFLN | 0.7 | -13% | 1.129M | -7% | 0.4 |
| Aug. 19 | CAR-TEN | NFLN | 0.7 | flat | 1.040M | -1% | 0.3 |
| Aug. 31 | LAR-GB | NFLN | 0.47 | -31% | 707K | -34% | 0.2 |
| Aug. 31 | SEA-OAK | NFLN | 0.40 | -29% | 607K | -29% | 0.2 |
| * Compared to 2015 (no window last year) ** Compared to ESPN’s lone preseason game last year | |||||||
183 Comments
I am guessing the only reason the Pro bowl want up in ratings was because ABC aired this year as last year only ESPN aired it
This may be a silly question, but just for assurance, I’ll ask. I assume all these viewership numbers are U.S. viewership, correct?
Yes, strictly U.S. viewership for all ratings info on this site.
The NFL is back! haha.
Seriously, quick poll. Do you think the Super Bowl ratings will:
A. Be higher than last year’s ratings
B. Be about the same as last year’s ratings
C. Decline slightly from last year
D. Be around the 8-12% decline we’ve been seeing this year
E. Be more than the 8-12% decline we’ve been seeing this year
My vote is for C as I think many people (like myself) are somewhat socially obligated to watch this game so as not to turn my personal relationships political. i.e., we always go to the Super Bowl party, so we’re going again… Obviously, I think people boycotting the NFL is more of a factor than others do…
@Paulsen Thanks again for the site, I’ve found this very interesting to follow this year.
Poll of SB Ratings:
B. Super Bowl is an event, which includes people watching for the commercials, the halftime show, plus people watching the championship game who otherwise don’t watch (like watching the finals of Wimbledon or the championship game of March Madness).
First time I’ve commented anywhere…but the denial of the upset with players kneeling during the national anthem, particularly doing it in London…is baffling to me. The anger is with the NFL more than with the players even, imo.
The NFL has given many people another reason to look at the league instead of the product. And in this case, completely unnecessarily. Especially when the product has a number of issues itself.
@Paulsen…also say thanks….this has been a great site for information rather than spin.
Decline
MLB and the NBA is so gung ho about prime time but looking at many of the NFL games many times games airing in earlier in the day outdraw games airing later. This season the AFC CG had higher ratings than the NFC CG and the top four highest rated regular season games did not air in prime time. A 1pm ET Sunday game in Pittsburgh outdrew both Saturday playoff games including one in the evening. So why not air afternoon World Series games or start them at 7pm or 7:30pm on Saturday/Sunday on the East Coast? The Super Bowl will start at 6:30pm on the East Coast. I highly doubt that will hurt their ratings. But the kids will get to see the end of the game and they will be watching the Super Bowl 20 years from now. I don’t know about the kids who didn’t get to watch the end of that thrilling Game 5 of last year’s World Series that ended past midnight. If that game started at 6:30pm maybe they would have seen the end of it.
I am done with the nfl and sports in general. There are so many things to do I have wasted a lot of time.
The following question was kind of asked (by Jacob on 10/29/17) and answered, but my dense hat is still on tight.
To take a specific example of week 15 (12/17/17), early DH on CBS. You have listed four games on the TV Schedule tab. And a viewership number of 9.9M people on the TV Ratings tab.
Does that mean that the average viewership per minute across ALL four games is 9.9M?
That if each of the four games was equally desirable (for simplicity sake), that about 2.5M would have watched the Dolphins-Bills; 2.5M Ravens-Browns; 2.5M Bengals-Vikings; and 2.5M Jets-Saints?
Yep. Think of it this way: the average minute audience for CBS during that timeslot (so 1-4:25 PM). So if you’re watching Patriots-Jets in Boston or Raiders-Titans in Tennessee, you’re included in the number.
Why display the highest rated/viewed games instead of week 16? I don’t see that compilation on the 2016 page,
Scroll down.
@Paulsen
How would you sum up the NFL ratings for the past nearly two years? I can’t seem to get a nonpolitical answer to this question either way and I’m hoping you can make a compelling, informed argument for why these ratings should or should not be a concern to the NFL.
Thank you in advance and best wishes.
Sorry for the late reply here. Definitely have not been great seasons for the NFL. The kind of mediocre numbers you would see a handful of times per season are now coming every week. And the blockbuster numbers you would usually see — 15s, 16s, 17s — have been almost nonexistent.
I would say the NFL should not be panicking; every other league has had a lull, and the NFL’s lull still involves NBA Finals and World Series-type numbers for regular season games. The NFL is not suffering any more than the rest of TV, and I would wonder (I don’t have the numbers) whether the NFL will actually widen its lead over primetime TV this year. The Walking Dead (biggest non-sports show on TV) has plummeted this year.
Maybe the past two years will nudge the league to making some necessary tweaks, like cutting back on TNF, strengthening the MNF schedule, eliminating unnecessary windows (ex. 9:30 AM games from London). But the biggest thing is what the league can’t control, which is lackluster on-field play and the run of injuries. I don’t think its a coincidence that ratings are so middling this season — a year when Green Bay, Dallas and N.Y. Giants are all missing the playoffs.
Interesting. Thank you for your response. I definitely understand your point (especially in regards to Green Bay, Dallas, and the N.Y. Giants), but as far as the lackluster play and injuries… I don’t know. I keep reading about how many bad teams there are now, but there are always bad teams. I mean, the overall win percentage is the same every year! haha.
I find the business of this so interesting. I had read one of your earlier comments in regards to the NFL not taking less money for future contracts even if ratings are down. At the time, it seemed odd, but it definitely seems true based on the Verizon deal. Logic dictates that at some point, lower ratings would translate to less money, but it doesn’t sound like the ratings are anywhere near that point yet… which I guess I don’t understand.
It seems obvious that they should either be getting more now (with higher ratings) or less later (assuming lower future ratings). I mean, I can’t work out if the advertisers are getting a deal now or if the NFL would be getting a deal (under the assumed) then.
Thanks again and best wishes.
Have to remember that in many cases, the comparison isn’t against prior years, but against the rest of TV. Still no better place to reach younger viewers than NFL games/sports in general. Very rare for any major sports league to have to take less money in its next deal, no matter how low the ratings go.
Thanks for all the work you do for this page–just a quick question as to when MNF will be posted for week 14?
Sorry for delay on that, will do by end of night.
Thanks so much!
Mr/Ms P:
Over the last 4 years (2014-2017), I added up the total Thur night viewers for the games broadcast on CBS or NBC [so NFLN only games were excluded]. So 8 games in 2014/2015, and 10 games in 2016/2017 (10th game for 2017 has not played yet, so used an estimate). Then I took the amount paid by CBS ($275M, $300M) and NBC/CBS combination ($450M in total for 2016 and $450M for 2017).
So the networks paid the NFL $2.10 per viewer in 2014 and about $3.08 per viewer in 2017. The NFL received a 45+% increase in per viewer payments in just 3 years. This goes with what you had written a month ago that the amount the NFL will receive from the networks in the next negotiations will not go down, no matter what.
My question, is that whether this type of simple metric of dollar amount per viewer [which does NOT take into consideration the desirability of the viewers, whether there was a higher proportion of the 18-49 demo in the mix that the regular population, for example] is used by you all, the sports media professionals?
I wouldn’t really look at it that way. You could argue that NBC/CBS are paying more for less now, but that’s not unusual. What matters most to the networks, and the advertisers, isn’t so much how the event is doing compared to past years, but how its doing vs. its competition.
Mr./Ms. Paulsen:
If you have the 2015 full round of playoff numbers (like you have with 2014 & 2016), is it possible for you to post them?
Cheers,
JWJ
I’ll try to do that.
Gotcha. Gotta love statistics with their random outliers. Thanks for the response.
Woah! +30 , +34 on the Steeler-Bengal game. Not watching a lot of football. Is that a great matchup? Was there something going on during the other game it’s up against last year? Seems like such an outlier based on everything else that’s been going on.
Last year’s game was historically weak. That happens from time to time. If the previous year’s window was historically weak, you can get a big increase. Similarly, if the previous year’s window was historically strong, you get a big decline.
How does week 12 thanksgiving night game not have a comparable game? Pit vs Indy last year thanksgiving night at 8:30pm on NBC ring a bell?
Not sure what you’re talking about. The comparison is in the post. The only reason there is no ratings comparison is because I don’t have the rating yet.
Has this week’s MNF rating come through yet? Only the Thursday & Sunday games listed for Week 12.
Only viewership so far. Should hopefully have rating tomorrow.
what would be an interesting add to the website would be a line graph of 2016 and 2017 of each time slot (ie. early DH, late DH, SNF, MNF). and see how bad the ratings are from last year to this year
Apologies if repeat question – How is DVR viewership factored into ratings and/or viewers?
All of the ratings reported here include same-day DVR (if you watched the show at any time before 6 AM the next morning). There are also ratings that include three days of DVR viewing, seven days, and 35 days.
But it should be noted that sports are unique for the fact that they really don’t add any viewers when using DVR ratings. As you can see here (http://tvbythenumbers.zap2it.com/dvr-ratings/week-7-broadcast-live-3-ratings-nov-6-12-2017/), many non-sports programs see viewership rise 20+% in just 3 days while the sporting events all rise 0% or 1%.
It also should be noted that 1 “viewer” means 1 person watching the entire program, or 2 people watching half of a program, 3 people watching a third of a program, etc. Even if there was an exciting finish to the game that many people replay, that would likely only amount to a small fraction of the telecast, thus requiring dozens of people to watch the ending just to qualify as one new viewer.
Shouldn’t the ESPN Monday Night games *not* be in parentheses, since the numbers listed are the cable TV ratings and not inclusive of streaming?
ESPN’s Nielsen ratings now include streaming viewership on TV devices (though not mobile). All ratings are U.S. area ratings (the “coverage area” or cable ratings are rarely reported now).
So when is Week 12 going to be published here? Do we have to go to the regular NFL page and look them up story by story?
As is always the case with holidays, the numbers will be at least a day late due to Thanksgiving.
Could you create or keep a running total of the highest rated games/windows of the season to date? I would find that useful. Same for college football. It can give an idea which teams/players are most popular.
Good idea.
The decline in viewership is likely greater than the numbers represented in these ratings. The age 49 cutoff leaves out a lot of middle aged and older people who tend to be more “conservative” and who are tuning out for political reasons.
The ratings and viewership include viewers of all ages. The 18-49 number is just for the column labeled 18-49.
Why does FOX have drastically higher viewership than CBS for the late doubleheader?
Based on my calculations, FOX averages 23.3M viewers while CBS averages 19.6M viewers. That is a measurable difference.
Been like that for years and years and years. NFC is significantly more popular than AFC.
Or is it that Fox just does a better job!
One thing is the quality of announcers! CBS has the worst and most boring announcers! Jim Nantz is a joke, this is not golf or tennis. He always seems surprised that people actually hit each other in the game. As far as color; Phil Simms started the boring, and then they replaced him with Romo. Train wreck! They always have been terrible! Fox just always has great announcers that make you want to watch, of course Madden and Summerall started the greatness, but Aikman and Buck are almost as good. Stockton, Daryl Johnston, Brando, Albert, Barber they all do a decent job! Then there is the Sunday Morning show; Fox’s show is head and shoulders above the others!
There are any number of reasons why I watch far less football today. I watch football to escape the insanity that passes for news and politics today, now that escape is gone. However, concussions and injury are not two of them. My decline started two or three years ago.
The games are:
Over officiated,
Too long with too many commercials (all repetitive),
Politically correct with colors to “raise awareness” of diseases of which I am already aware,
The pitiful and obvious attempt to woo female viewers,
Stupid rules to enhance the score while playing to “fantasy football”,
The defense has been neutered,
Endless replays reviews to get everything “right” and avoid criticism,
Tax subsidies for billionaires’ stadiums to seat the well-heeled in luxury boxes,
Too much “celebrity” involvement, and
I repeat, over officiated.
In short, the games generally just stink.
“Politically correct with colors to ‘raise awareness’ of diseases of which I am already aware” — that is a truly bizarre reason to tune out of football.
On the contrary, it’s a great reason to tune out football. It is supposed to be entertainment. Diseases are not entertaining.
It’s the dumbest reason for tuning out of anything that I’ve ever heard, and that’s as charitable as I can be about it. I’ll just leave it at that.
Well, I’m not against breast cancer awareness, but I perceive the NFL’s association with it as a cynical attempt to curry public favor in light of their wife/girlfriend beating issues (see Ray Rice).
I suppose it feels like an insincere marketing effort rather than legitimate concern if that makes sense. I understand that this is only my opinion, but I feel like it trivializes both issues.
For me, not watching the NFL anymore is a “straw that broke the camel’s back” situation. I’m not sure if it’s the kneeling, the CTE, the weird celebration/standardization stuff (No Fun League), poor player behavior, etc. but one of those “straws” broke this camel’s back.
Great site. As a business major, I find the business of the NFL incredibly compelling this year (much more so than the product)! Thank you so much.
I, too, am sick of the full month of pink. The first week of the first year it was done it was a neat little thing and I was OK with it. As it dragged on week after week it got very old very quickly. Then the return every year has worn very very thin. As nearly 100% of the players, coaches, staff, etc. are male and a significant majority of the viewing public is male how about a prostate cancer awareness campaign? But please, no more than one week long.
Sorry I agree with him it’s not bizarre but right
Perfect. Where the heck is the “upvote” button?
It’s important to realize that the current NFL rating numbers are now, and have been, affected by a number of things. Streaming services and those similar to DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket have been hurting the traditional ratings for 10 years or so. And in any event, the league doesn’t really seem to care much about the ratings. Why should they? The advertising revenue for any season is, for the most part, collected contractually prior to the actual season start. So if an advertiser pulls a spot they are pulling something already paid for. Not good business practice. Actually, according to Business Insider, NFL advertising revenue has increased over 2% this season despite lower numbers.
absolutely correct about your assumptions, with one exception. in 2022, all the TV contracts run out and NBC/CBS/FOX will re-negotiate television contracts. and if the ratings are still in free fall, there’s no chance that the 3 networks will pay what they did for the last tv contract. (yes, ESPN too but there’s a chance that ESPN may be out of business by 2022!)
and you know what happens to lower tv contracts? less money to spread amongst the 32 (or more) teams in 2022. and that would equate to less money for players, reduced salary cap number.
I’m assuming you don’t follow this industry closely. The idea that the NFL will have to take less money in the next negotiations is ridiculous. They might not get the increases they otherwise would have, but the idea of them taking *less* is fantasy world stuff.
I’ll assume you were being facetious about ESPN going out of business by 2022, but if you weren’t, that’s also absolutely ridiculous.
if ratings continue in their downward projection, why would the 3 networks pay more than the $3.73B (cbs), $3.6B (nbc), $4.27B (fox)and $8.8B (espn) they did in 2013? ESPN doesn’t have $8.8B to pay, they’re laying more workers after thanksgiving again!
Because that’s the way the industry works. ESPN and Turner paid more for NBA rights in 2007 coming off of all-time record low ratings. ESPN, Turner and Fox paid more for MLB rights in 2012 coming off of all-time record-low ratings. Even if one of the incumbent networks were to balk, another outlet would eagerly step in to pay the NFL more than it was making before.
Thankyou for compiling this.
I’m sure it’s an oversight (or I’m reading it wrong), but it seems that ESPN’s current TV + streaming numbers are being compared to past years’ TV-only numbers.
You are correct — I’ll fix where I can (not all of last year’s TV+streaming numbers are available).
I do appreciate your efforts. It appears that ESPN is making an apples-to-apples comparison to prior years (intentionally) impossible.
I wouldn’t say ESPN is doing anything necessarily. Networks have been pushing in this direction for awhile. I can understand their perspective — streaming viewers should count just the same as those on linear cable — but as you said it makes apples-to-apples comparisons difficult.
I wish this article made note that these ratings drops are even worse when you take in to account that the rating from last year were down 15% from the previous year. A 5% drop this year means that viewership is down by 20% in just two years time. 1 out of every 5 are no longer watching
Ratings would probably be even worse if seniors were included in the ratings. Advertisers take note…the baby boomers have more impact on the economy than you may think.
The overall viewership number includes people aged 2-99. As far as advertisers go, younger viewers are significantly more valuable because they are harder to reach. Has nothing to do with who has more disposable income.
Comparing the current week to the same week last year or two years ago kind of confused me in trying to figure whether the overall trend was up or down and by how much. It just seemed to me that looking at an individual week’s numbers in isolation would not be that helpful due to the attractiveness of differing team matchups, outside events [world series, etc] impacting a particular week. So I created a simple spreadsheet that just added the number of viewers from 2014, 2015, 2016, & 2017 year-to-date. The data is from this website.
Thursday night football viewers were excluded, as well as London games, Thanksgiving games, late season Saturday games, and Week 17 games. Only the viewers of the three day games on Sunday, Sunday night, and Monday night were included. Also included were the season opening kickoff game and BOTH games of the first week Monday night doubleheader. So for each of the 2014, 2015, and 2016 seasons, a total of 82 games were compared.
2014 – 1,513.3M viewers
2015 – 1,546.5M viewers
2016 – 1,407.4M viewers
YTD through Week 8 for all 4 years
2014 – 777.2M viewers
2015 – 798.4M viewers
2016 – 703.4M viewers
2017 – 654.3M viewers
So, based on these calculations, the YTD (through week 8) drop in overall viewership from 2015 to 2017 is about 18%.
The number of viewers increased from 2014 to 2015 by 2.2%
Mr. (or Ms.) Paulsen [with your industry expertise], does an evaluation in this manner have any relevance?
JWJ: I am writing a blog post on peak football and would like your permission to use and cite your data. I will explain the connection to the base data from the SMW site. It would also be helpful if you could provide the citation data–I can always bring it back to the SMW post. Also having your adjusted spreadsheet would be a help.
You did a sensible job in the way you worked with the data. (I was getting ready to do something similar for the post, but then went through this thread and there it was, and wonderfully thought out.
I am a Professor–so I keep to academic practices on citation whenever I can. I am an economist who specializes in economic development and each in the John Glenn School of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University.
Thank you,
Ned Hill [Hill.1973@osu.edu]
For the games broadcast on CBS labeled “Various”, how can I find who actually played in those games? How is viewership for those games calculated? Thanks.
Check the schedule (http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-schedule-fox-cbs-nbc-sunday-night-football-espn-mnf-nfln-tnf/). As far as how the numbers are calculated, its the same as for the regional windows on FOX — the ratings cover all the games in those windows.
Great. Thank you so much!
Sorry have my dense hat on today. So for all games in Early and Late DH and Single game categories, do the figures you publish represents the total of all the games or the average of all the games in those windows? thnx
The numbers include all of the games in that window — I just list the game that is in the largest number of markets.
Edit: Looks like I have my dense hat on too. Didn’t read your comment properly. So to answer your actual question, it’s the average viewership per minute. The total viewership (the gross of everyone who watched at least six minutes) is a different, and much larger, number.
Not a surprise. Since NFL broadcasting got bought out by Direct TV fewer and fewer games are shown on national TV channels, so there will be less viewers. I for one are not interested in watching anymore because I want to watch every game and that is not possible because they are not televised regular channels.
The NFL also needs to separate themselves from politics. I know a few people that are not watching because of the political displays in the NFL.
First, like so many others that have pointed this out, thank you very much for the clear posting of this data. Really appreciate it.
Second, you have mentioned the following: “This season would be the fifth of the past seven in which NFL viewership declined on NBC and CBS, and the sixth of the past seven in which viewership declined on FOX and ESPN. The declines may be steeper the past two years, but this is a longer-term trend than people realize.”
Do you have tv viewing numbers by game for more prior years than 2016 & 2015? Where would an interested party go to see info on 2014 and before?
Sorry for the late reply. You can find 2014 ratings here: http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/nfl-tv-ratings-viewership-nbc-cbs-fox-espn-nfln-regular-season-playoffs/4/
Thank you for entering into the peanut gallery and providing the link. Appreciate it.
Do you have any links for 2013 and/or 2012?
No — I have the numbers, but never got around to posting them to the site.
Thank you for compiling the data. I have noticed locally that very few people are wearing NFL merchandise. I’m curious about merchandise sales. It has already gotten cold here a few times (northern il) and nobody has broken out their NFL winter gear. It looks like the NFL clothes have gone the way of crocs.
I don’t keep track of merchandise sales or attendance, just the ratings. There will probably be some stories written on merchandise sales at some point on one of the other sports business sites.
Are you saying anyone over 49 does not matter or do you just want to leave anyone over 49 out of the ratings.
I’m not saying anything. Advertisers — for decades and decades and decades now — have prioritized the adults 18-49 demographic. If you have a problem with that, take it up with them.
Great answer, Paulson, and thanks once again for maintaining this marvelous, apolitical information source.
So what’s the bottom line? Overall, are the ratings going down ? What have they been week to week for this season?
Neilsen reported 2.5 million fewer viewers per game in week 4 than in week 1. 13.8 million in week 4 vs 16.3 million in week 1. The proof is in.
Again, if you’ve actually followed NFL ratings for more than a month, you’d know that it’s pretty typical for viewership to sink from Week 1 to Week 4.
Even when hurricanes are supposedly impacting ratings the first couple of week? Last year saw a big decrease to begin with and this year is even lower, scuttling the media’s “election” excuse.
The hurricane coverage obviously hurt the Week 1 numbers, but that doesn’t change that Week 1 is always going to be stronger than Week 4 — if for no other reason than you have the Kickoff Game in there. Argue otherwise if you want.
One problem all these excuses have is that college football ratings remained strong last year (which was covered) and this year too so far as I can tell (based on headlines touting strong ratings here and there and the lack of global ratings coverage otherwise). The sport of football itself is still popular, but NFL ratings have eroded significantly since early last year. Since the election (or at least debates on certain nights) undoubtedly DID depress viewers some last year, that they’re as low as they are even a year after the election speaks volumes.
No dispute that NFL ratings are down (edit — from last year. The week-over-week declines, as I said, are not unusual). As far as CFB ratings, I wouldn’t make any across-the-board pronouncements. Some windows are up, some are down. If you’re looking at ABC’s Saturday Night Football, looks like a strong season. If you’re looking at the SEC on CBS, not so much.
I can not fiqure out how to get to page 2 and 3 to see prevvious results.
You would think someone on this site could tell me how to see 2016/2015 results from my ipad.
The links are in the first paragraph, but if you’re not seeing them for some reason, just add a /2 (2016) or a /3 (2015) to the URL.
Forgive me if i’m not correct here but the big win in Week 5 is actually a loss if you compare that game to the same match up from 2016 (week 6). 2016 DAL vs GB week 6 – 15.8 / 28.0 vs 2017 Week 5 DAL vs GB – 13.6 / 23.8
the teams playing (obviously) matter probably more than comparing weeks and time slots year over year.
As noted here: http://www.sportsmediawatch.com/2017/10/nfl-ratings-week-5-packers-cowboys-good-lower-previous-meetings/
How is week 5 a plus, when Rtg is 6.1 vs. 7.3 on Week 4? Also, A-18-49 in week 5 is 3.7 vs. 4.3 in week 4?
All of these numbers are compared to last year.
Thank you for providing this information. Can you provide some additional guidance on the figure for the “Various” line item for CBS in each week? Does that represent the total ratings/viewership for all the games broadcast by CBS in that time slot?
That’s the case for all regional windows. So when you see “CAR-DET 50%”, the numbers are for every game FOX aired in the window. The reason I list the CBS games as “Various” is because CBS does not put out its regional splits each week.
Using the 2015 – 2017 seasons, weeks 4 and 5 when comparing average number of viewers per game I don’t see much difference between 2016 and 2017 seasons. The big drop seemed to be between 2015 and 2016.
Week 4 2015 – 17.4m /game
2016 – 13.8m /game
2017 – 13.8m /game
Week 5 2015 – 17.8m /game
2016 – 15.1m /game
2017 – 15.1m /game
I think the current impact of the boycott maybe somewhat overstated. But, I think it is having an impact at the margins, and the NFL can’t afford to lose even that small margin. It’s a distraction they don’t want. And, I think the NFL has access to other numbers that are equally as bad at the margins which they won’t publically share. For example, I’m sure page views of at nfl.com may have taken at hit, and I’m sure the NFL has commissioned a number of private polls whose numbers may not been encouraging. That’s why I expect the league/ownership to bring the protests to an end in a way that doesn’t alienate activist players, their supporters and fans who have tuned out.
Ultimately, I think the NFL needs to focus on building an Internet based product with greater viewer interaction. I think the numbers would rebound if viewers had greater control over the product. For example being able to select games, camera angles, their own replays, etc.. Essentially making the fan their own producer/director. Just my thoughts.
And in the interest of full disclosure. I did the math really fast and didn’t double check it. So, I could be completely wrong.
P.S. Thanks for making this info available. You’re by far the best source of ratings info on the web. You’re like the C-Span of ratings info, no editorializing, just the facts.
Something to keep in mind. This season would be the fifth of the past seven in which NFL viewership declined on NBC and CBS, and the sixth of the past seven in which viewership declined on FOX and ESPN. The declines may be steeper the past two years, but this is a longer-term trend than people realize.
All one has to see is Week 1 SNF at 25 million viewers, and then week 5 at 16 million viewers to see a real story.
That’s pretty typical if you’ve actually followed this stuff since for more than a few weeks. Two years ago, when there was no “NFL ratings down” narrative, SNF fell from 26.8M in Week 1 to 19.6M in Week 5. Four years ago, it dropped from 25.4M in Week 1 to 17.7 million in Week 5. (Notably, Giants-Cowboys was the Week 1 game in all three of those years).
Did you notice that the NY Giants played their big rival in week #1 SNF? Did you know that New York has a LOT of people? Did you? Don’t you think that New York games would get higher viewership than Oakland? Washington? Kansas City? Houston?
Thanks for compiling the numbers! This is the only site that I’ve seen that does this analysis in a format that is easy to read. Everywhere else, you have to hunt through text or do a bunch of your own calculations.
Where is MNF for week 4?
Yikes, thanks for catching. Thought I had already added it.
Thanks!
NO-MIA NBC was not on NBC it was on Fox
Right, thanks for catching that.
Seems like Dallas is the only thing holding it all together for the NFL. Makes me like Dallas fans even less.
clear as mud. Is overall viewership going up or down. Can anyone just do a line graph anymore?
Thanks for adding that footnote under each week! Makes it so much easier to understand!
Cheers
How on earth is TNF calculated as a 38% increase?
From 2016, week 4. which is the comperable NFLN only game.
4.8 -59% 7.9M -59%
and 2017 week 3 NFLN is
4.4 +38% 7.448M +47%
This math is wrong. Even comparing Apples to Apples.
Week 2 TNF is compared to Week 4 TNF in ’16 (NFLN’s first exclusive telecast).
Week 3 TNF is compared to Week 8 TNF in ’16 (NFLN’s second exclusive telecast).
You’re comparing the wrong weeks.
Its REALLY not clear thats what you’ve done. I get the * on it, but trying to find that you actually compared it to the 8th week.
Looking through the comments, its clear, that this isn’t clear 🙂
Alright, I’ve updated it to make it clearer.
TNF is actually a 8.33% decrease for non streaming and 5.82% decrease with streaming included.
The only positive is the Early DH on CBs.
Overall:
without Streams and MNF, the week is down 8.19%
with Streams and no MNF, the week is down 8.21%
You sure about that? The first two exclusive games on NFLN this year (Weeks 2 and 3) are up 20% from the first two weeks last year (Weeks 4 and 8). Down 5% from first two exclusives in 2015 (Weeks 9 and 10).
Thats correct, but since it was extremely unclear on how you got to that number the first time as indicated by all of the comments, its easy to look and compare to week 4 versus 8 for week 3.
If we readjust from since it was actually week 8 and not 4… Here is the adjusted Overall:
without Streams and without MNF, the week is down 5.04%
with Streams and without MNF, the week is down 4.9%
FYI, this footnote: *** Compared to NFL Network’s comparable exclusive games last year
doesn’t say you calculated it that way at all. It doesn’t even say that week 2 was compared against week 4. and week 3 against 8. You can clear it up pretty quickly with an update to that footnote 🙂
So overall only taking the 2x DH/SNF and Single Games Viewer ship wise… W3 has been lowest of the past 3 years and of this current Regular Season… Next Sunday will be interesting to see.. Speculating with the Current Trend it will def be lower … W4 took a 10m Drop from 2016-2015 … Current Estimate should be around 6-10~ drop again, but will be interesting with the current news for next Sunday ..
W1 W2 W3 W4
2017 71.8 74.2 68.5
2016 82.4 77.8 74.9 68.4
2015 85.1 85.6 77.6 78.7
I don’t get the +/- data for Week 3 TNF. Last year it had a 10.6 rating with 17.5m viewers. This year a 4.4 rating with 7.448 viewers. That looks like a 57% drop to me, not an increase. Am I reading it wrong?
+/- is to the comparable TNF exclusive on NFL Network last year. NFL Network’s first two TNF exclusives were in Weeks 2 and 3 this year, and Weeks 4 and 8 last year. Will do same for simulcasts — Bears-Packers this Thursday will be compared to the first CBS simulcast last year.
Edit, just to be clearer: I’m going to compare the TNF exclusives to last year’s TNF exclusives, and the TNF simulcasts to last year’s TNF simulcasts.
Maybe add a footnote to explain which games are being compared? Otherwise folks might assume it’s the same game as last year, not same type of broadcast in a different week.
Footnote is already there — games are marked with a caret symbol (^). Scroll to end of chart and you’ll see the explanation.
That’s the way I read it toof
I’ll make it clearer.
I’m wondering the same thing is my basic math wrong or am I reading it wrong or they just lying
Already explained. Games that air exclusively on NFL Network are compared to games that aired exclusively on NFL Network last year. The games that air on NFL Network + CBS/NBC are compared to the ones that aired on NFL Network + CBS/NBC last year.
I watch throiugh the NBC sports bundle on Verizon because you get free data usage while watching for $5 a month. I found this bundle (data defense) on the Freeway Overpass app by a Seattle company called Syntonic. Is this counted in the streaming???
The Freeway Overpass app has heaps of otger cheap dara free bundles too.!!My friends live
As long as you’re watching through the NBC Sports app, I believe you would be factored into their streaming audience.
But how is the ratings calculated? Are only the networks calculated? Is the NFL ticket on Directv used in the calculations?
Just the TV broadcasts, so no streaming (unless otherwise indicated), no Sunday Ticket, no Red Zone. But its always been that way, so the absence of those figures would not be relevant when accounting for declines from previous years.
wouldn’t it be relevant if people are choosing those methods to view rather than watching conventionally? If I am streaming when I used to watch on cable that will impact the numbers. If I replace my weekly trips to Target with exclusive target.com shopping, I am still spending money with Target and they of course are still reporting the revenue. S
Definitely a factor, and streaming viewership continues to grow. I include that data when its reported, but it’s not always reported. NBC and ESPN report the TV+streaming audience in most weeks, but FOX only does so on special occasions and CBS never does.
Hello — I notice the link to 2015 NFL ratings takes me to 2016. Is there a way to still get access to 2015? I use this site regularly — it’s terrific! — and particularly during the current period would like to refer back to it.
Thank you for providing this excellent tracking data.
Not sure why that’s happening. I’ll try to fix.
Should be fixed now.
Thank you so much ! Love your web site. You are an isle of dispassionate reporting of facts in a sea of commentators who seek to spin everything to fit their own point of view.
NFL is boring. At college, we have a large screen. No one watches. We have students from every state and a lot play soccer or other things. Most games I did surf over had empty seats. Even the Panthers down state couldn’t sell out. Boring game
Are these HH ratings, or A18+ ratings or P2+ ratings?
Household ratings, though P2+ viewership and A18-49 ratings are also included on the chart.
This also does not take into account of the thousands who watch for free from their computer. It’s not difficult to find the games streaming online.
This also doesn’t take into consideration that it’s easier to keep up with the NFL on your phone.
To say ratings are down, it is true. But it’s not because of people losing interest. It’s because of different ways to keep up with the game.
This year I watched 2 games live stream on some random website because I was unable to at my house during the time, or they weren’t on my station.
I’ve also kept up with the scores on my phone.
Ratings drop? Sure
Popularity drop? No
It says they are included on the top of the page.
Those are not real viewers, they are score watchers.
Keeping up with the NFL is not the same as watching a game
Yes popularity drop. I know several huge fans that have refused to watch. You’re very wrong the NFL screwed the pooch, they’re over with.
So how do you tell the overall NFL viewership? Was it down as a whole?
Down 8% from last year according to ESPN.com, though that does not include Thursday Night Football. http://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/18412873/nfl-tv-viewership-drops-average-8-percent-season
This is proof the league is not rigged. If it were the boys would be in the superbowl every year. Top 2 selling jerseys, most valuable team in the world by a billion, most team products sold, and if you were ever in the military, when traveling what team is associated with football. The Cowboys. Imagine those insane ratings 200 or 250 million views for super bowl 51 if it’s Cowboys steelers. The league might rig it after that. Triple the cost of comm
ok its clear broadcast nets bring in the ratings cable not so much.
I have always been a die hard football fan. I’ve had season tickets in the past. I have been to 4 Superbowls and I always watched on Sunday, Monday and recently Thursday. All this has changed. I am a Patriots fan.
Now I always watch the Patriots game but I only occasionally watch the other games. All of the negativity surrounding football, especially Brady and the Patriots, has worn down my love of the game. Every Sunday I think I will watch day and night but when I try I am just not able to do it anymore. It has nothing to do with the quality of the games.
I have always been taught to stay away from negative people and events and to try to stay positive. Football has become a negative event for me. I blame the Commissioner! He may make money for the league but he has taken away the positive experience of watching football. Who will he fine next? Who will he suspend? It turns my stomach just to see him on TV.
Maybe my outlook will change over time. I hope it does, I have a love of the game. It is just not the same right now.
How did the Cowboys pull in 35M viewers, but have only at 14.5 rating?
They have pulled in higher ratings on other weeks with much less viewers.
More viewers per home on Thanksgiving.
Whoops, this is the correct link showing Dallas had the top 3 rated regular season games in 2015.
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/the-three-most-watched-nfl-games-of-2015-involved-this-4-12-team/
Dallas is the only sure thing when it comes to tv ratings. In 2015 the 4-12 Cowboys had the top 3 rated games:
http://cowboyszone.com/threads/cowboys-at-steelers-garners-highest-ratings-thus-far-this-year.362740/#post-6976826
Yesterday’s classic Cowboys-Steelers game drew a massive 17.8 rating, by far the biggest of the year so far:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-sports-nfl-ratings-idUSKBN13922V
It’s always been like this which is one of the reasons they earns the nickname of “America’s Team”.
Jerry Jones is making every player stand for the National Anthem on the Cowboy Team. Could this be a reason why every teams ratings have dropped but the Cowboys?
Might be because the Cowboys are the most popular team in football and have been for years.
Could you please post the ratings for MNF for week eight as you have for the previous weeks? Thank you and I love the SMW website!
By the end of the day.
Hear, hear!!!!! Wish I’d come here years ago!
Just wondering, is there any place to find the 18-49 numbers from last season? I think that is the way to find out if the leagues ratings woows are from older people being obsessed with the election or younger people tuning out?
Sorry for the late reply. I have those numbers and they’re mostly in step with the overall downward trend.
What is the MNF Texans / Broncos ratings ?
Will add those now, thanks for the reminder.
Do you think fantasy football is working against the NFL viewership? I notice that I don’t watch games as much than keep up with my fantasy teams.
Not sure how much of an impact fantasy football has on the ratings, but I would imagine that its not a significant factor.
I feel the same way, I keep up more with my fantasy teams than what i watch actual games. Honestly if it wasn’t for ff I probably wouldn’t watch any football this year, and this is coming from a lifetime football fan.
Dallas is on every week. No wonder ratings are down!!
I would love to see the ratings market-by-market. I have been wondering if the drop in ratings could be at least partially due to the Rams’ move to Los Angeles. My hypothesis is that many Rams fans in the Midwest, upset by the move, have probably stopped watching. That’s a significant drop in ratings in the center of the country.
Likewise, fans in L.A. have not embraced the new local team. The Rams are a bad watch, and many NFL fans in L.A. are fans of other teams. Before the Rams moved, L.A. used to get the best NFL games pumped in on Sunday morning and afternoon. Now that the Rams have moved in, NFL fans in L.A. get fewer, and less desirable, games to watch. Personally I’d much rather watch the Packers or the Steelers (or several other teams) than the Rams. Thus, I would bet ratings in L.A., the second largest market are also down significantly.
Add a ratings dip in the Midwest to a ratings dip in L.A., and you’ve got a ratings problem.
But unless we can see market-by-market ratings, it’s hard to verify my theory.
Local newspapers in Missouri will have some local NFL ratings stories throughout the season. Here is a recent one (scroll toward the bottom): http://www.kansascity.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/vahe-gregorian/article105984212.html
Where can a person find ALL of the home market tv ratings for each NFL city with a team? It is amazing that these numbers are so hard to find. You would get a lot of hits if you listed ratings for all the cities. What rating did the Rams draw in L.A. in week 3? There ratings have been low and the numbers are hard to find now (not surprisingly).
The NFL has in past years released that information on a weekly basis, but I haven’t seen anything like that this year. As far as the Rams, their game this past weekend had a mere 6.1 in L.A., according to SBD (http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Daily/Issues/2016/09/28/Media/NFL-audience.aspx).
What about week three?
So is the secret to FOX’s success the NFC East? Also, does FOX have to pay more money than CBS since they get more marketable teams?
FOX is paying slightly more than CBS — 1.1B per year, compared to 1.0B.
Does that even out the extra revenue they receive due to better ratings? Or would CBS gladly pay the extra fee in order to get NFC games!
The secret to Fox’s success is the Dallas Cowboys. The proof is in the numbers.
When do the ratings come out? We don’t have week 2 yet? It’s Wednesday
Right on
Do you have 16 and 17 ATTENDANCE at NFL games? I see lots of empty seats
Ooops! I forgot to ask whether it’s possible to calculate (roughly) revenue from concessions such as parking, food and memorabilia, 2016 and 2017 comparisons. Lower attendance leads to reduced concession revenue, even taking into account prices of concessions being jacked up year-by-year
MAYBE they should stop the game stoppages for all the red flags and
reviews, its a terrible product now. Keep the game moving even if the
refs get it wrong. I don’t care. Example: Was it a catch? I don’t know, did
he catch it with both feet?-lets look at the slo motion reply for 10 minutes.
On the next close play, lets do it again. Uggh!