NFL viewership took a slight hit in the regular season, through no fault of its biggest broadcast partners.
The 2022-23 NFL regular season averaged 16.7 million viewers per window (including additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen), down from last year’s average of 17.1 million. The decline is primarily due to the shift of Thursday Night Football from linear TV to Amazon Prime.
Though down overall, NFL viewership was up on its largest broadcast partners. FOX and CBS both had their most-watched regular seasons since 2016, averaging 19.42 and 18.49 million viewers respectively. As usual, the late doubleheader window was the most-watched with an average of 24.13 million on FOX and 23.5 million on CBS.
The two networks accounted for each of the ten largest NFL audiences this season — seven in the late doubleheader window, two on Thanksgiving and one on Christmas — and 16 of the top 17.
Most-watched NFL telecast windows, 2022 season
NBC averaged a 9.8 rating and 18.7 million viewers for its Sunday Night Football package, down a tick in ratings but up 1% in viewership from last year (9.9, 18.5M) and the most-watched season of SNF since 2019 (20.0M). Including additional streaming data not tracked by Nielsen — 1.2 million across NBC’s digital platforms, up 38% from last year (843K) — SNF averaged 19.9 million (+3%).
As usual, SNF was television’s top primetime show in ratings, viewership and adults 18-49 (5.1). The network’s most-watched game was its Thanksgiving night game between the Patriots and Vikings (24.78M).
Per Sports Business Journal, ESPN/ABC averaged 13.4 million viewers for Monday Night Football — down 5% from last year. That average excludes the Week 17 Bills-Bengals game that was called off due to the collapse of Damar Hamlin. The Bills-Bengals game would have almost certainly been the most-watched of the season on MNF had it played out normally.
As previously noted, Thursday Night Football averaged 9.58 million viewers in its first year on Amazon Prime, down sharply from last year on FOX and NFL Network.
(Nielsen estimates from network PR, Sports Business Journal 1.10)
