NFL viewership rebounds to average 20.2 million viewers through Week 4
The NFL has recovered from early-season declines, with the average regular-season game drawing a Nielsen-measured 20.2 million viewers from Sept. 9 through Oct. 7—up 4% from the same period a year ago.
NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” is the strongest performer at 23.2 million viewers. CBS Sunday games average 20.5 million, ABC/ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” 19.3 million, Fox Sunday afternoon games 17.9 million, and Amazon Prime Video 17.4 million. CBS is up 7% year-over-year and Prime Video up 9%, while NBC is down 2%. Fox’s average is lower than its 23.2 million figure from the comparable period last year.
National TV advertising on NFL games is estimated at $1.6 billion through the first four weeks, up 7% from $1.5 billion a year ago, according to iSpot. The total comes from 21,572 commercial airings, compared with 18,015 in the year-ago period.
Leading advertisers by estimated revenue include YouTube TV (248 airings), Amazon Prime Video (162), Geico (195), Progressive Insurance (169), Allstate (140), Verizon (185), Toyota (65), State Farm (94), and Burger King (147).
iSpot’s “attention” index, which measures viewer retention and interruption rates, stands at 140 this season versus 123 a year ago.