NFL opening week viewership falls 13% to 19.5 million despite extra games

MediaPost’s Wayne Friedman reports that 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.

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 — Wayne Friedman · emarketer.com — Marisa Jones.

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