How many people watch the NFL? The National Football League seems to be as popular as ever, coming off a season that saw a new Super Bowl champion for the first time in three years. With so many great teams around the league, NFL television ratings are dominating the market more than ever before as football remains the most-watched thing on television.
We’ll be tracking NFL TV ratings throughout the season. Ahead of Week 2, here are the NFL television ratings from Week 1 with games on YouTube, Amazon Prime Video, NBC, FOX, ESPN and CBS.
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NFL TV Ratings for Week 1: League
Here is a quick breakdown of the NFL TV ratings from Week 1, starting with the NFL Kickoff Game on NBC between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles to ESPN’s Monday Night Football clash between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears.
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- NFL TV ratings for Week 1 (average): 22.3 million viewers
Notes on Week 1 NFL TV ratings
- NFL Kickoff Game: The first game of the 2025 NFL season averaged 28.3 million viewers despite a one-hour lightning delay, falling below last season’s NFL Kickoff Game (Ravens vs. Chiefs), which averaged 29.2 million viewers. However, the Cowboys vs. Eagles matchup averaged 31.9 million viewers before the weather delay suspended play for just over an hour.
- Brazil Game: Streamed exclusively on YouTube, viewership for the Chiefs vs. Chargers game is more uncertain, given it was self-reported and not measured by traditional methods. However, it still drew a significantly larger audience than the 2024 Brazil game, which was streamed on Peacock (14.2 million).
- CBS Primary Game: An NFC North battle between the Lions and Packers, with the added buzz of Micah Parsons’ debut at Lambeau Field, averaged nearly 24 million viewers. It was the most-watched Week 1 NFL game on CBS since 1998.
- Sunday Night Football: A playoff rematch between the Ravens and Bills delivered NBC its best TV ratings for a Week 1 Sunday Night Football game since 2022 (Buccaneers vs. Cowboys). Across its two Week 1 broadcasts, NBC averaged over 26 million viewers.
- Monday Night Football: The NFC North came up big for NFL TV ratings in Week 1. J.J. McCarthy’s NFL debut and the head-coaching debut of Ben Johnson brought in 22.1 million viewers for the Monday Night Football clash between the Vikings and Bears. That marked an 8 percent increase from last season’s MNF opener, when Aaron Rodgers and the Jets faced the 49ers.
- Total: Week 1 averaged 22.3 million viewers across NBC, ESPN, CBS and FOX. It marks a 5 percent increase from last season and a 19 percent increase from the 2023 season.
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