NFL Opening Game Viewership Falls 12% to 25.1 Million as Wednesday Shift Tests Fans
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Sep 14
NFL Opening Game Viewership Falls 12% to 25.1 Million as Wednesday Shift Tests Fans
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Sep 14
Summary
25.1 million viewers watched the Patriots-Seahawks opener on NBC and Peacock, down from 28.3 million a year earlier and marking the NFL’s lowest opening-night audience since 2022.
The drop followed the league’s move from its usual Thursday opener to Wednesday, a scheduling change tied to its expanded international slate and limits under the 1961 Sports Broadcasting Act.
That shift let the Rams-49ers game in Australia land on Thursday, but it also gave fans back-to-back primetime games and less routine viewing, factors likely weighing on the opener’s audience.
Jim Jordan used a congressional hearing on NFL streaming practices to argue that fragmented, costly access across platforms is adding to fan frustration even as the league keeps expanding.
The NFL still drew a bigger audience than any NBA Finals game in June, but the weaker opener adds to signs that aggressive growth in streaming, new windows and overseas games may be testing demand.