Bulls-of-the-Week
The launch of the new National Football League campaign had the juggernaut-type impact that we knew it would this week, making both the NFL in particular and sport television in general extremely hot bull markets when it came to audience numbers. Ramping up as it always does on the first Thursday after Labour Day Weekend, the 16-game NFL slate Thursday through Monday produced the most-watched opening week in NFL history, headlined by the season opener on NBC, where the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Dallas Cowboys 24-20 before an average U.S. television audience of 28.3 million on Nielsen and Adobe Analytics. The Sunday Night Football matchup — also on NBC — was next in line with an average American viewership of 24.7 million watching the Buffalo Bills come from behind to beat the Baltimore Ravens in one of the most entertaining four-down football games in years.
The third most-watched game of the opening week was on the CBS national window, where the network drew 23.89 million for Green Bay’s win over Detroit, its largest audience in that time slot since 1998.
Monday Night Football on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 was the biggest recorded viewership of the ESPN era, with an average of 22.1 million for Minnesota-Chicago. According to Sports Media Watch, the top six was rounded out by the New York Giants against the Washington Commanders (17.9 million on FOX) and the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New York Jets (17.05 million on CBS).
On the one hand, the record-setting opening week was to be expected given the anecdotal spikes in digital and social media impressions in the lead-in to NFL Kickoff 2025. It’s no surprise that the NFL is the new Facebook or “social network”, creating an unrivalled social platform on television, streaming, fantasy and sports betting. Yet part of the robust numbers is being driven by new methodology, including further expansion in the measurement of out-of-home viewing and the use of set-top satellite and cable TV boxes, Smart TVs and first-party streaming.
That will give this year’s weekly numbers an advantage over last season and every year before it. No matter how you cut it, though, an average of 22.3 million across television and digital platforms is a best-ever number, up five per cent over last year and a whopping 19 per cent over 2023. North of the border, fans in southern Ontario made the Bills’ remarkable comeback against the Ravens on Sunday Night Football the biggest opening week TV magnet in Canadian television history. Watch for more of that strong traction in the Golden Horseshoe, the London-Windsor corridor and the Lower Mainland of B.C., where the San Francisco 49ers-Seattle Seahawks Sunday tilt was the second most-watched game of the weekend in Canada.
Bears-of-the-Week
The massive surge of football viewing cast a shadow over Major League Baseball and the other men’s and women’s leagues operating in September. Yet when it comes to scoreboard watching on devices, honourable mention to the Toronto Blue Jays, New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox in the American League East, the Houston Astros, Seattle Mariners and Texas Rangers in the AL West, and the LA Dodgers and San Diego Padres in the NL West, the three most-talked divisions in baseball. The NFL will continue to win the TV sweepstakes across all metrics, but baseball will benefit from the higher cumulative viewership numbers driven by football (representing the total of those who watched part or all of a game).
Tom Mayenknecht is the host of The Sport Market on Sportsnet 650 on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. The Vancouver-based sport business commentator and principal in Emblematica Brand Builders provides a behind-the-scenes look at the sport business stories that matter most to fans. Follow Mayenknecht at: x.com/TheSportMarket.
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