The NFL enjoyed a historic viewership surge during its opening week, averaging 21.0 million viewers per game. This represents a 12% increase from the previous year, making it the most-watched Week 1 on record, according to the league and Nielsen. A total of 123 million people watched at least part of one game, the highest figure for an opening week since 2019. Hans Schroeder, NFL Media's executive vice president, remarked, "A great start."
NBC led the ratings with the Kansas City Chiefs' 27-20 victory over Baltimore, drawing 29.2 million viewers, marking NBC's second-largest regular-season game since 2006. The Sunday night match between Detroit and the Los Angeles Rams garnered 22.7 million viewers. Tom Brady's debut as Fox's leading analyst also attracted significant viewership, as Dallas' 33-17 win over Cleveland averaged 23.93 million.
Fox's Sunday afternoon doubleheader averaged 18.64 million viewers, its best since 2020. CBS reported its highest Week 1 singleheader viewership since reacquiring NFL rights in 1998, averaging 17.79 million for its six games. Philadelphia's 34-29 win over Green Bay on Friday night attracted 14.0 million viewers on Peacock and NBC affiliates, becoming the second-most watched live event on Peacock. Monday Night Football averaged 20.4 million viewers for San Francisco's 32-19 win over the New York Jets, despite a DirecTV carriage dispute impacting viewership. (This story was generated by Newser's AI chatbot. Source: the AP)
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