The NFL ran amuck over our collective attention course in the face of yet another contentious election cycle, and while the team’s TV shipments were down a few fewer than last year, the net losses were hardly significant. Shouty Beltway forms did their level best to horn in on our national addiction, but the NFL shrugged off the social intrusions, averaging 17.5 million visitors per year across its 118 TV panels. That marks a 2 % fall versus the year-ago time, which works out to an average reduction of around 400, 000 people. By contrast, the Trump/Clinton-haunted 2016 time took an 8 % struck, as the NFL’s TV associates had to contend with the loss of some 1.6 million ideas per month.
Leading the pack for the second consecutive season was CBS ‘ Sunday afternoon regional windows, which averaged 24.2 million people, edging Fox’s” America’s Game of the Week” stone by a percentage of 291, 000 ideas per month. The network can’t celebrate its big win, despite CBS ‘ ongoing dispute with Nielsen, which effectively underlines how a hybrid AFC/NFC roster has played a key role in leveling the playing field. ( Prior to the 2023-24 campaign, Fox had strung together a 13-season winning streak. ) Helmed by Jim Nantz and Tony Romo, the CBS Sunday showcase featured four all-AFC games, including the Nov. 17 Chiefs-Bills blockbuster that averaged 31.1 million viewers. Four other late windows were devoted to NFC-on-NFC matchups, while the remaining broadcasts were crossovers. When the Thanksgiving Day games are added, CBS ‘ national NFL average increased to 25.4 million viewers, and its lead over Fox increased to around 966, 000 impressions per week. The late window, which the two networks have shared for the past 15 years, has deserved the title of most-watched TV program. The race between CBS and Fox in part turned on a rough two-week patch for the latter, which was marred by consecutive appearances by the low-scoring, intrigue-shunning Pittsburgh Steelers. On Dec. 15, fans bailed out of the listless Pittsburgh-Philly game once it became clear that Russell Wilson &amp, Co. wouldn’t manage to score in the second half, per Nielsen, that window averaged 16.4 million viewers. The Steelers were beaten by their AFC North rivals in Baltimore on Saturday, and the 15.4 million viewers who stayed for the carnage were a good 10 million shy of Fox’s typical deliveries. Overall, the late-night window audience dropped by 3 %. Keep in mind that the average number of viewers for a primetime entertainment series on the Big Four networks is 3.56 million per episode, which is a 600 % advantage over the big NFL window, or a lead of about 21.4 million impressions. Speaking of prime, NBC notched a slight year-over-year lift with its Sunday Night Football juggernaut, which inclusive of streaming impressions was up 1 % with an average draw of 21.6 million TV and digital viewers. The ratings increase was attributed to an increase in Peacock deliveries, as NBC’s sibling streamer contributed to SNF’s increase in digital viewers from 1.6 million to 2.2 million per week. Back out those eyeballs and the Tirico/Collinsworth linear-TV average worked out to 19.4 million viewers per week, down 2 % versus last year’s 19.8 million. The chances of C. J. Stroud yelling,” I’m going to Disney World,” are even higher than those of a wholly impromptu breakout performance from one of the networks ‘ midseason shows, let alone Perfect Wife: The Disappearance of Sherri Papini scaring up 20 million pairs of peepers every week! On February 9th, NBC’s football juggernaut will triumph in the primetime ratings competition for the 14th straight season. The Thursday Night Football package from Amazon Prime Video, which improved its deliveries 11 % and averaged a weekly draw of 13.2 million viewers, also attracted a larger audience this season. Amazon’s third season of TNF attracted an additional 1.34 million fans every week, and its younger-skewing, high-earning audience remains the envy of the linear-TV set. Per Nielsen, the Thursday night window boasted a median age of 49.0 years, nearly seven years south of the NFL’s TV average ( 55.7 years ) and considerably younger than the creaky broadcast primetime audience ( 63.3 ). Advertisers that forked over the$ 565, 000 in-game unit rate were rewarded with a wealthier bunch of would-be consumers, as TNF viewers boasted a median household income of$ 101, 800 throughout the regular season, which is 16 % higher than what the fans who watch the NFL via the linear-TV networks were raking in ($ 87, 800 ) over the same period. Among the NFL’s media partners, only Disney had to contend with a double-digit drop, as Monday Night Football’s average draw of 14.9 million viewers was down 14 % versus last season’s 17.3 million. Despite having fewer ABC simulcasts and standalone games, at least some of the MNF erosion has occurred; last year, Disney scheduled 19 outings on its broadcast flagship, compared to 15 this time around. Due to the traditional interaction between supply and demand, Disney should be able to make the most of its smaller cache of rating points in the 2025-26 upfront bazaar. With an average unit cost of$ 655, 000 per 30-second spot, ABC/ESPN’s NFL package was the second-priciest buy on the primetime dial, in the likely event that demand for the in-game inventory is flat or up, the ratings crunch should propel Disney’s asking price to at least$ 700, 000 a pop. The ABC lift was particularly evident toward the end of the fall campaign, as the Dec. 30 Lions-49ers duel averaged a season-high 22.1 million viewers across ABC and ESPN, while the Jan. 4 Bengals-Steelers capper served up just shy of 22 million. The ABC wrinkle makes a significant contribution to the legacy pay-TV bundle’s ongoing shrinkage, which lost an additional 5 million subscribers in the last four quarters. Penetration of the cable/satellite/telco-TV bundle is now down to just 38 % of all U. S. TV households, and even with a boost from the virtual MVPDs, pay-TV’s overall reach is now at 54 %. While determining causality for human behavior is about as important as teaching a dog how to make waffles, a few things may have helped to avoid yet another election-year collapse. For one thing, scoring was up. With a 45 % average tally per game, offensive production increased by 5 %. Detroit closed out the regular season with an average haul of 33.2 points per game, up from the year-ago 27.1, while Josh Allen’s Bills put up 30.9 (up from 26.5 ). Lamar Jackson’s Ravens trailed Buffalo by just four-tenths of a point, as Baltimore improved its weekly output by 2.1 points. Meanwhile, that Chiefs scoring slump wasn’t a figment of your imagination, Patrick Mahomes helped Kansas City average 22.6 points per week, good for a decidedly middling 15th place on this season’s list. Just two years ago, the Chiefs were the NFL’s No. 1 illuminator of scoreboards, with an average yield of 29.2 points per game. As it happens, all but one of the 12 playoff teams put up bigger numbers than they did a year ago, with the Texans the outlier, dipping from 22.2 to 21.9 PPG. And while September’s Steelers seemed to be as allergic to the end zone as they’ve been throughout the post-Ben Roethlisberger era, Wilson’s Moonball was instrumental in upping the team’s production from a lowly 17.9 PPG to an average ( 22.4 ) that came in just shy of the Chiefs ‘ number. The NFL’s offensive rebound did not coincide with an eruption of blowouts, as the average margin of victory this season ( 11.2 PPG) was identical to last year’s spread. While those margins were still up noticeably compared to the white-knuckle 2022 season ( 9.7 PPG), they’re also more competitive than what was on offer in 2021, when 12.2 points marked the gap between winners and losers. Of the playoff teams, Detroit boasts the most eye-goggling advantage over its peers, with an average margin of victory of 13.1 PPG—a number that seems suspiciously low, given some of the scores they put up: 52-6, 52-14, 47-9. Philly ( 9.4), Buffalo ( 9.2 ) and Baltimore ( 9.2 ) also have a tendency to pile it on. All of which ought to contribute greatly to ensuring yet another large turnout for the playoffs, which begin on CBS and Amazon on Saturday. The number to beat is 30.2 million viewers, an average that was inflated by the massive turnout for last year’s Packers-Cowboys throwdown. Green Bay’s 48-32 win averaged 40.2 million viewers on Fox, making it the 10th-biggest draw of 2024. Fox’s Sunday Packers-Eagles broadcast is expected to draw well over 30 million viewers, excluding the kind of unlikely blowout that encourages viewers to get off the couch and find something else to do with their afternoon if none of the Wild Card games this season are likely to top that figure. Even a one-sided matchup has staying power at this time of year, as evidenced by the TV audience’s viewing of the final broadcast of the regular season. The Lions ‘ 31-9 mauling of the Vikings averaged 28.5 million viewers Sunday night, per Nielsen, 35 % of all TVs that were in use at the time were tuned to NBC.