CBS Secures Most NFL Viewership in Week 5
By Movieguide® Contributor
The week 5 NFL viewership record goes to CBS as 20.27 million viewers tuned in to last week’s matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Los Angeles Rams.
Per Deadline, “This is the second consecutive week that CBS has led the pack, but they still won’t be touting the win, since Paramount and Nielsen are still entangled in a contract dispute that has left the current contract expired. That means Paramount properties aren’t technically using Nielsen data to measure any of their content.”
Despite CBS taking the win this week, overall viewership is “down 14% in ratings and 12% in viewership from last year (mostly Chiefs-Vikings: 11.6, 23.13M),” Sports Media Watch reported.
According to the NFL, during week 1 the league averaged 21.0 million viewers for each game.
“The league and Nielsen said Wednesday morning that the per-game average on TV and digital platforms was a 12% increase over last year. Nielsen began electronic measurement of viewing in 1988,” NFL.com reported. “All told, 123 million people saw at least part of one game, its highest total for an opening week since 2019.”
NFL’s executive vice president of media distribution, Hans Schroeder, said, “A great start with the viewership. It was great to be back and a lot to be excited about.”
One game that spiked the NFL’s viewership is when the Philadelphia Eagles played the Green Bay Packers in Brazil.
The game averaged 14.0 million viewers and “it was the second-most watched live event in Peacock’s four-year history, behind last season’s AFC wild card round game between Kansas City and Miami.”
“I think the numbers even exceeded our expectations. Brazil was great and the game was an exciting one,” Schroeder emphasized. “On a new night and window, I think that was a phenomenal start for us.”