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# NFL opening week viewership falls 13% to 19.5 million despite extra games
- URL: https://www.medianexis.com/nfl-opening-week-viewership-falls-13-to-19-5-million-despite-extra-games/
- Published: 2026-09-19T13:54:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-19T13:54:21.000Z
- Description: NFL opening week averaged 19.5 million viewers per Nielsen, down 13% from last year’s 22.3 million even with two extra games added. Stripping out four early Sunday afternoon windows, the week actually rose 2% to 21.9 million.
- Author: The Signals Desk
- Tags: Measurement, Wayne Friedman, Marisa Jones, NFL opening week viewership down 13%/19.5M viewers

**Why it matters.** Advertisers buying sports inventory must weigh gross ratings points from added games against a per-game audience decline when pricing next season’s upfront.

*Based on reporting by* [*mediapost.com*](https://www.mediapost.com/publications/article/418086/nfl-opening-week-draws-195m-viewers-down-13.html?ref=medianexis.com) *—* [*Wayne Friedman*](https://www.medianexis.com/tag/by-wayne-friedman/) *·* [*emarketer.com*](https://www.emarketer.com/content/13--nfl-viewership-decline-makes-rising-ad-prices-harder-justify?ref=medianexis.com) *—* [*Marisa Jones*](https://www.medianexis.com/tag/by-marisa-jones/)*.*