> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://jimmakos.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # NFL Viewership: What Figures Could the League Expect in the 2026 Season? - URL: https://jimmakos.com/nfl-viewership-figures-league-expect-2026-season/ - Published: 2026-08-26T09:15:42.000Z - Updated: 2026-08-26T09:15:42.000Z - Author: JimMakos.com - Tags: Betting The NFL is one of the biggest sports leagues on the face of the Earth and has millions hooked to their TV screens each week, especially when the Super Bowl is on. Last season, the league [averaged 18.7 million viewers per game](https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-sees-second-highest-regular-season-average-viewership-since-1988) during the regular season, the second-highest average since the NFL began recording averages in 1988\. Following the regular season, the Super Bowl drew in 125.6 million viewers in the US. Below is a look at possible viewing figures for the 2026 season, reasons why some games will be more popular and audience demographics. ## Viewership projections The NFL has a habit of breaking viewership records as the league grows more and more popular. The second-highest average number of TV viewers per game in the 2025 season was a 10% increase on the average for the 2024 season. Looking towards the 2026 season and the NFL is already generating big numbers. The first round of the 2026 draft achieved its third most-watched audience ever: an average of 13.2 million viewers on traditional and digital platforms. Across the three days of the draft, a record 805,000 fans attended, including a record 320,000 on that Thursday. Further ahead, ESPN will be broadcasting the Super Bowl for the first time, when it hosts the 61st edition on February 14, 2027\. The network aims to make the Super Bowl the most-watched one ever. The 2025 Super Bowl between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles holds that record at 127.71 million viewers. ## Why will viewers flock to some games more than others? The way data and analytics firm Nielsen measures audience has changed to include digital and out-of-home audiences and give a more comprehensive picture of viewing figures. But as last season showed, some matchups will be huge audience drivers and have sports betting fans rushing to [view the NFL point spreads](https://sportsbook.draftkings.com/leagues/football/nfl). ### Thanksgiving Thanksgiving is massive for any data analyst studying the NFL, as the Thanksgiving period generates high viewing figures. In 2025, the Dallas Cowboys vs the Kansas City Chiefs hit more than 57 million viewers and was the most-watched regular-season game ever, followed by the Green Bay Packers vs the Detroit Lions. This Thanksgiving, the Chicago Bears go up against the Detroit Lions in one of the NFL’s favorite rivalries. Tens of millions of fans who loathe both the Eagles and the Cowboys will still watch the teams battle it out in their encounter. When the Chiefs clash with the Buffalo Bills at Thanksgiving, it will be a prime-time tale of two high-profile quarterbacks: Patrick Mahomes (Chiefs) and Josh Allen (Bills). This could turn it into the most watched game of the 2026 regular season. ### Week 1: the Super Bowl “rematch” In a season opener, on September 9, the New England Patriots go on the road to the [Seattle Seahawks](https://jimmakos.com/nfl-picks-seahawks-steelers-odds-shortening/). After suffering defeat at the Seahawks’ hands in February 2026, the Patriots will be itching to avenge the Super Bowl heartbreak. The words “rematch” and “season opener” get bodies in front of TV sets. Last season, in Week 2, the Chiefs took on the Philadelphia Eagles, who’d deprived the Kansas side of Super Bowl glory earlier that year, and it was the third most-watched game of the regular season. ### The Netflix experiment Los Angeles Rams face the San Francisco 49ers in Week 1, in Melbourne, Australia, and they do so on Netflix, instead of traditional TV. The game takes place on Thursday, September 10, the traditional night Week 1 conducts its season opener, so audiences will already be aware of the game. The Rams are a favorite to win the Super Bowl, which will heighten interest, and there will already be natural interest in the opening week. Plus, Netflix has already shown NFL games successfully, so the question is whether it can whip up a large audience outside of the Christmas period. ## But who’s watching the NFL? Generation Z is taking much more interest in the NFL, thanks to celebrities such as Taylor Swift and to the success of teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs. But not only younger generations are watching the NFL. Past research shows that half of Americans in the US watch the games; and of this half, half are older adults of 55+ and 42% are women. Only 17% are younger adults under 35\. Outside of the US, in Europe, more younger adults watch NFL games. The demographics also suggest that the NFL is made for TV viewing: only 12% of viewers attend games in person (ticket prices, transport and other expenses could be a factor in this, however). The NFL attracts viewing figures in the millions and, it seems, breaks viewing records of some kind [every season](https://jimmakos.com/nfl-2015-betting-odds-preseason/). Some games will have NFL fans bubbling with anticipation and surely keep them glued to their seats. Older generations are particularly fond of the NFL, but games are starting to find fans in much younger generations, too.