The NFL has revealed TV ratings for the end of the 2024 regular season, with a surprise decrease in viewers. An average of 17.5 million viewers tuned in per game across all networks, marking a 2.2% decrease from last year’s figure.
Despite the decline, the NFL still tops any other programming in terms of viewership, across sports and beyond. The rise of streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, which joined the NFL in offering live matches, has led to more subscription fees for fans to pay for access.
Amazon saw an 11% year-over-year increase to an average of 13.2 million viewers for its Thursday Night Football coverage, with an additional 13% increase when including its Black Friday game. ESPN had its second-best season in 24 years of airing Monday Night Football, averaging 15 million viewers, although this is down 14% from last year’s average of 17.4 million.
Fox averaged 18.4 million for its NFL coverage, down 3% from last year, while Sunday afternoon’s America’s Game of the Week coverage led all league broadcast windows with an average of 23.9 million viewers, still down 3% from last year.
NBC’s Sunday Night Football averaged 21.6 million viewers in total audience delivery, up 1% from 2023. Meanwhile, Netflix made its live NFL debut on Christmas Day, averaging more than 24 million viewers for a high-profile doubleheader. CBS, which did not disclose end-of-season viewership data, drew one of the year’s biggest audiences for the November 17 Chiefs-Bills game, which averaged 31.1 million viewers.