Snapping a six-year streak of declines, Pro Bowl ratings were the highest in four years.
Sunday’s NFL Pro Bowl earned a 5.3 rating and 8.6 million viewers across ESPN and ABC, per Nielsen fast-nationals — up 26% in ratings and 14% in viewership from last year on ESPN alone (4.2, 7.6M). Figures include TV and streaming viewership.
The AFC’s narrow win, which peaked at a 6.1 and 10.1 million from 5-5:30 PM ET, ranks as the highest rated Pro Bowl since 2014 (6.6) and the most-watched since 2015 (8.8M). It was the first Pro Bowl to post an increase over the previous year since 2011.
The Pro Bowl easily topped the competing NHL All-Star Game on NBC, winning the head-to-head matchup by 293% in the metered markets (5.9 to 1.5). It also topped last year’s NBA All-Star Game on TNT and TBS (4.2, 7.8M), but narrowly trailed last year’s MLB All-Star Game on FOX (5.5, 9.3M).
In a down year for the NFL, the Pro Bowl was the league’s first game to post an increase since Week 17.
Despite the multi-year high, Sunday’s game was the lowest rated and least-watched Pro Bowl on an over-the-air network since 2007 on CBS (4.6, 7.0M).
New Orleans led all markets Sunday with a 15.2 rating. Kansas City ranked second at a 10.3, with Richmond, Va. (9.2), Seattle (8.8) and Philadelphia (8.4) rounding out the top five.
Pro Bowl Ratings, Viewership (2000-Present)
[Sun. numbers from ESPN PR 1.29]
