NFL has highest regular-season viewership since 1989

NFL viewership has seen a notable increase, with televised games averaging 18.7 million viewers, according to Sports Business Journal. This marks the highest average since 1989, indicating that more people watched games then compared to now. However, recent growth is attributed to a new Nielsen metric that includes out-of-home consumption, leading to a reported 10 percent increase over 2024 figures. CBS, NBC, and Prime Video recorded their best full-season average audiences, while Fox had its highest since 2015. ESPN experienced its second-best season, following 2023's spike due to a writers' strike that expanded Monday night game broadcasts to ABC. The upcoming playoff games are expected to attract even larger audiences.