NFL Viewership Statistics (2024) – Trends & Analysis
NFL continues to be a popular tournament in American sports, regularly attracting huge TV audiences. During the 2023 regular season, the NFL reached its highest average viewership since 2015, with each game drawing in an impressive 17.9 million viewers.
The increase in viewers can be linked to a few key reasons: the excitement of the games and the league’s smart choices in broadcasting partnerships, as well as the increase in the usage of streaming services.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the NFL stats for 2024, breaking down how viewership has changed over the years, which teams are leading the charge, and how streaming services are shaping the game.
NFL Viewership Statistics 2024: Data In A Glance
- On September 5th, 2024, the 2024 NFL season witnessed a high level of engagement, with an average of 28.9 million TV viewers tuning in to the event.
- An average of 48.9 million viewers tuned in to watch the NFL Kickoff game on 5th September through TV and streaming services.
- The regular season NFL games attracted an average television viewership of 17.9 million in 2023.
- The Thanksgiving weekend game between the Washington Commanders and the Dallas Cowboys drew an impressive television audience of 41.8 million viewers in the United States.
- The Dallas Cowboys emerged as the most-watched team, with a remarkable audience of 25.18 million viewers in the 2023 NFL regular season.
Top NFL Viewership Stats For 2024
28.9 million TV viewers, on average, visited the 2024 NFL season one match on September 5th, 2024.
That’s an average increase of 5% from 27.5 million TV viewers recorded for the Lions-Chiefs opener last year.
These numbers made the NFL 2024 season the most-watched NFL Kickoff games since the beginning of this league.
Source: Yahoo Sports
The viewership for NFL kickoff games on September 5th was recorded to be an average of 48.9 million on TV and streaming services.
That is an 18% increase in the average viewership compared to 40.1 million viewers recorded in the 2023 NFL kickoff game between the Chiefs and Detroit Lions.
At 10:09 p.m. ET, the game reached peak viewership, where 55.6 million people watched the game.
YouTube and YouTube TV recorded a total viewership of 16%, while other streaming platforms collectively recorded 34% of the game viewership.
Source: Adweek.
What Is The Average TV Viewership For The NFL?
The average television viewership of the regular season NFL game in 2023 was recorded to be 17.9 million.
That was an increase of 7.19% or 1.2 million viewers compared to 16.7 million viewers recorded in 2022.
This was a record-breaking NFL TV viewership recorded over the years.
The average number of TV viewers in the NFL has grown by 2.9 million between 2017 and 2023.
Here is a table displaying the number of average NFL viewership by year:
| Year | NFL Average Television Viewership |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 17.9 million |
| 2022 | 16.7 million |
| 2021 | 17.1 million |
| 2020 | 15.6 million |
| 2019 | 16.5 million |
| 2018 | 15.8 million |
| 2017 | 15 million |
| 2016 | 16.5 million |
| 2015 | 18.1 million |
| 2014 | 17.6 million |
Source: Statista
NFL Viwership By Network
NBC recorded the highest number of NFL viewers, averaging 21.4 million viewers in the 2023 season.
Meanwhile, CBS also recorded an all-time high number of viewers on the platform for the NFL 2023 season, averaging 19.3 million.
Further, Fox recorded the third-highest viewership for the NFL season, averaging 19 million viewers, an increase of 2% compared to last year.
The following table displays the average viewers by network recorded during the NFL 2023 season:
| Network | Average Viewers |
|---|---|
| NBC | 21.4 million |
| CBS | 19.3 million |
| Fox | 19 million |
| ESPN | 17.4 million |
| Amazon | 11.9 million viewers |
Source: Sports Business Journal
What NFL Game Has The Most Viewers?
Washington Commanders vs Dallas Cowboys, the Thanksgiving weekend game, attracted 41.8 million TV viewers in the United States.
This made it the most-watched NFL game in the 2023 NFL regular season.
Other games that were watched the most in that season were Green Bay Packers vs. Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys vs. Miami Dolphins, with 33.7 million and 31.5 million TV viewers in the country.
The following table displays the most-watched NFL games on TV in the NFL 2023 regular season in the United States.
| NFL Game | TV Viewership |
|---|---|
| Washington Commanders vs Dallas Cowboys (Week 12) | 41.8 million |
| Green Bay Packers vs Detroit Lions (Week 12) | 33.7 million |
| Dallas Cowboys vs Miami Dolphins (Week 16) | 31.5 million |
| Buffalo Bills vs Philadelphia Eagles (Week 12) | 30.9 million |
| Las Vegas Raiders vs Kansas City Chiefs (Week 17) | 29.5 million |
| New York Giants vs Philadelphia Eagles (Week 17) | 29 million |
| Philadelphia Eagles vs Kansas City Chiefs (Week 11) | 29 million |
| San Francisco 49ers vs Philadelphia Eagles (Week 13) | 27.7 million |
| Baltimore Ravens vs San Francisco 49ers (Week 17) | 27.6 million |
| Dallas Cowboys vs Buffalo Bills (Week 9) | 27.1 million |
Source: Sportico
NFL Viewership By Team
During the NFL regular season in 2023, the Dallas Cowboys were the most-watched team, with a total of 25.18 million viewers.
The second-highest viewers were of Washington Commanders during the regular NFL matches in 2023, with 25.07 million viewers.
Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers are other NFL teams that attracted high viewers.
Here are more details about the average TV viewers of NFL games in the US as of 2023 by team:
| NFL Teams | Average TV Viewers In 2023 |
|---|---|
| Dallas Cowboys | 25.18 million |
| Washington Commanders | 25.07 million |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 23.67 million |
| San Francisco 49ers | 23.28 million |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 23.22 million |
| Detroit Lions | 20.31 million |
| Buffalo Bills | 19.74 million |
| Houston Texans | 19.65 million |
| Green Bay Packers | 19.37 million |
| Seattle Seahawks | 19 million |
Source: Statista
NFL Viewership Worldwide
NFL recorded an international viewership of 62.5 million in 2023 for the Super Bowl.
This figure excluded the domestic viewership of 123.4 million viewers in the United States.
Of the recorded international viewers in 2023, 24.1 million viewers were from Mexico, the highest viewership recorded since the game began and a 5% increase compared to 2022.
Besides, the number of viewers in Mexico and Canada witnessed the highest growth compared to other countries during that season.
Source: Sportcal
NFL Streaming Statistics
The AFC Wild Card match between the Miami Dolphins and the Kansas City Chiefs, which was held in January 2024, recorded the highest NFL views on Peacock of 12 million.
Meanwhile, the Packers-Eagles game held in September 2024 became the second most-watched live event on Peacock with 14.2 million viewers.
The Ravens-Chiefs broadcast surpassed the NFL kickoff game viewership by 5% and an increase of 65% in the AMA (average minute audience) compared to last year’s game.
Overall, the average minute audience for the NFL live stream on Peacock, NBC Sports digital platforms, and NFL digital platforms was recorded to be 4.6 million viewers on September 5th and 2.8 million on September 8th.
Source: Sportcal, Media Play News.
The NFL Thursday Night Football (TNF) saw a 24% increase in its viewership on Amazon Prime compared to the previous season.
TNF on Amazon Prime recorded an average of 11.86 million viewers compared to 9.58 million viewers in the last season.
Besides, the Vikings-Eagles match in September 2023 recorded 15.1 million viewers on Amazon Prime, making it the most-watched TNF game ever on Amazon Prime.
Source: Amazon Studios.
NFL Draft Viewership Statistics
TV audience across the 2024 NFL draft was recorded to an average of 5.9 million viewers.
However, the first round was viewed by a record-breaking 12.1 million viewers. In the second round of the draft, there were only 5.05 million.
The average audience recorded in the NFL Draft 2024 is further detailed in the table below.
| NFL Draft Rounds 2024 | Viewers in Millions |
|---|---|
| Average | 5.9 million |
| Round 1 | 12.1 million |
| Rounds 2-3 | 5.05 million |
| Rounds 4-7 | 3 million |
Source: Statista
The first round of the NFL Draft 2024, Round One, recorded an increase of over 0.8 million viewers compared to 2023.
In 2024, an average of 12.1 million people watched NFL Draft Round One in the United States on TV, while 11.29 million people watched the NFL Draft Round One in 2023.
Besides, that’s an approximate increase of 4.4 million viewers compared to that recorded in 2020, when the viewer count fell by nearly 4.6 million compared to 2019.
The following table provides the details about the average number of NFL Draft Round One viewers by year:
| Year | Number of NFL Draft TV Viewers Round One |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 12.1 million |
| 2023 | 11.29 million |
| 2022 | 10.03 million |
| 2021 | 8.06 million |
| 2020 | 7.72 million |
| 2019 | 12.37 million |
| 2018 | 8.84 million |
| 2017 | 8.33 million |
| 2016 | 9.21 million |
| 2015 | 11.21 million |
| 2014 | 11.1 million |
Source: Statista
NFL Viewer Demographics And Engagement Levels
NFL viewers are mainly men aged 35 to 44. Let’s explore the demographics of NFL viewers in detail.
NFL Viewer Gender Demographics
70% of the men in the United States engage in NFL matches.
At the same time, just 53% of the females in the country watch NFL matches.
Source: Sponsor Plus
NFL Viewer’s Age Demographics
35% of the adults aged 18 to 34 years are avid fans of the NFL.
Meanwhile, 41% of the adults aged 35 to 44 years are avid fans of the NFL and 32% stated that they are casual fans.
Here is a table displaying the breakdown of the NFL fans by age group.
| Age Group | Avid Fans | Casual Fans | Not A Fan At All |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18 – 34 years | 35% | 31% | 34% |
| 35 – 44 years | 41% | 32% | 27% |
| 45 – 64 years | 39% | 34% | 28% |
| 65+ years | 32% | 34% | 34% |
Source: Statista
How Much Does The NFL Make From Advertising?
In 2023, the Super Bowl NFL season recorded 600 million in ad revenue.
Meanwhile, the NFL season recorded an ad revenue of 578.4 million in 2022 and 545 million in 2021.
The following table displays the ad revenue recorded in the Super Bowl NFL season by year.
| Year | Ad Revenue |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 600 million |
| 2022 | 578.4 million |
| 2021 | 545 million |
| 2020 | 449 million |
| 2019 | 339 million |
| 2018 | 341 million |
| 2017 | 430 million |
| 2016 | 376 million |
| 2015 | 322 million |
| 2014 | 309 million |
| 2013 | 272 million |
| 2012 | 244 million |
| 2011 | 212 million |
Source: Statista
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Conclusion: Average TV Viewership For Regular Season NFL Games In 2023 Stood At 17.9 Million
The NFL reached its highest viewership since 2015, showing a 7% increase from the year before. NBC came out on top with the most-watched overall package, averaging 21.4 million viewers.
Additionally, the NFL’s viewership grew across all demographics, displaying a 9% increase in female viewership and a 6% increase in male viewership, while the league saw its strongest season among adults aged 18-34 since 2019.