The NFL’s TV ratings have stayed strong even after the recent election season.
An average of 17.5 million people have been watching NFL games this season. This number doesn’t include international games or broadcasts streamed on platforms like ESPN+ and Peacock. The league reported that this is the highest average viewership through Week 11 since the 2015 season.
There had been concerns that viewership might drop during the election season, like it did in 2016 when ratings fell by 8 percent compared to the previous year. Viewership also dropped for various sports leagues during the 2020 election season, which was affected by COVID-19.
However, this year was different. Ratings held steady around the time of the election.
Games that aired on CBS and Fox on Sunday afternoons, along with primetime games on Amazon Prime Video, NBC, and ESPN, averaged 18.48 million viewers in the two weeks before the Nov. 5 election. After Election Day, the average viewership dropped slightly to 18.18 million.
Week 11 saw the NFL’s most-watched game so far this season, with the Buffalo Bills’ 30-21 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. This game, which was the Chiefs’ first loss of the year, had 31.2 million viewers.
The Chiefs, who are the two-time defending champions, have been part of four of the five most-watched games this season:
– Chiefs vs. Bills, Week 11: 31.2 million viewers
– Ravens vs. Chiefs, Week 1: 28 million viewers
– Bengals vs. Chiefs, Week 2: 27.9 million viewers
– Ravens vs. Cowboys, Week 3: 27.3 million viewers
– Chiefs vs. 49ers, Week 7: 27.1 million viewers
The NFL also saw its biggest “Monday Night Football” audience in Week 11 since 2006. A total of 17 million viewers watched the Houston Texans’ 34-10 victory over the Dallas Cowboys.