Ratings Roundup: NFL Ratings Down Slightly Through 3 Weeks; Ravens-Cowboys in Rio Is Top NFL International Game Ever

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent ratings news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, The NFL dominated another week, taking the top six spots in Nielsen’s Top 25. CBS’ Ravens-Cowboys game in Rio drew 24.9 million viewers, the most-watched NFL international game ever. ABC swept college football’s Week 4, and College GameDay posted its best Week 4 episode ever from Knoxville. NBC Sports opened its first MLB postseason since 2000 with record Wild Card audiences for Yankees-Red Sox, while FOX and NESN wrapped strong MLB regular seasons. Also, USA Sports drew 2.25 million viewers for Fever-Aces Game 3, ESPN’s NHL opener rose 16% from last season, and the Presidents Cup and NASCAR’s Chase both gained viewers.

NFL Holds Top Six Spots in Nielsen’s Top 25 (Sept. 21-27)

The NFL took the top six spots in Nielsen’s Top 25 Live Sports Telecasts for the week of Sept. 21-27, and every one of them topped 16 million viewers. CBS’ 4:25 p.m. ET window, featuring Ravens-Cowboys from Rio de Janeiro, ranked No. 1 with 25 million viewers. NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast of Rams-Broncos placed second with 20.8 million. Monday Night Football’s Giants-Rams game on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 was third with 19.4 million. FOX’s 1 p.m. regional window (17.9 million), CBS’ 1 p.m. regional window (17.7 million) and Prime Video’s Falcons-Packers (16.8 million) rounded out the top six.

College football landed 12 games in the ranker, led by Texas-Tennessee on ABC at No. 7 with 9.7 million viewers. ABC’s Ole Miss-Florida and Texas A&M-LSU followed at No. 8 and No. 9. Next came NBC’s Oregon-USC, CBS’ Iowa-Michigan and FOX’s Northwestern-Indiana and Illinois-Ohio State. ESPN’s South Carolina-Alabama and Oklahoma-Georgia ranked No. 14 and No. 15. Utah-Iowa State, Clemson-California and Arizona-Washington State filled out the final three spots.

ESPN’s WNBA coverage placed two games, Fever-Aces at No. 16 and Lynx-Fever at No. 17. NBC’s Presidents Cup final and third rounds ranked No. 18 and No. 19, and USA Network’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Kansas was No. 20. MLB claimed two spots: Red Sox-[OPPONENT] on ESPN at No. 21 and FOX’s Rays-Phillies at No. 22.

NFL Viewership Dips Slightly to Kick Off Season

According to Sports Media Watch, NFL game windows are averaging 20.0 million viewers through week 3 across the league’s various media partners. That’s down slightly from 20.5 million last year, but otherwise the highest average at this point of a season in the Nielsen people-meter era (dates back to 1988). Week 3 of the season averaged 20.2 million, down from last year but still the second-most watched on record.

CBS Sets International Record as FOX Wins the Early Window

CBS Sports’ Ravens-Cowboys game in Rio averaged 24.904 million viewers and peaked above 30 million. That makes it the most-watched NFL international game in history and CBS’ most-watched Week 3 game since 2014, up 5% from last year’s comparable game. Earlier in the day, CBS’ regional window, led by Bengals-Steelers, averaged 17.713 million viewers. That is up 31% and CBS’ best Week 3 regional window since 1990. CBS’ doubleheader averaged 21.446 million, up 15% and its most-watched September doubleheader since 2014. Through three weeks, the NFL on CBS is averaging 19.005 million viewers, up 6% from last year’s record season. FOX’s 1 p.m. ET window drew 17.898 million viewers, the most-watched early window of the day on any network and up 11% from last year (16.148 million).

Rams-Broncos Attracts 20.8 million Viewers

Sunday night’s SNF matchup between the Rams and Broncos drew an average of 20.8 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. It’s the third straight year in which the first four NBC games surpassed 20 million. By way of comparison, the Chiefs-Giants Sunday night game from Week 3 in 2025 averaged 25.3 million.

Eagles-Bears Gives ‘Monday Night Football’ Its Second-Best Week 3 Since 2006

ESPN’s Monday Night Football telecast of Eagles-Bears drew 22.6 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes and NFL+. That is the second-largest Week 3 audience of ESPN’s MNF era, which dates to 2006, behind only last season’s Lions-Ravens (22.8 million). It also ranks as the sixth most-watched game in ESPN’s 21 seasons of the franchise. Through three weeks, MNF is averaging 21.8 million viewers, up 20% from the same point in 2025. The Week 1 Broncos-Chiefs opener and Week 2’s Giants-Rams were each the most-watched game of their week in the ESPN era. The Monday Night Countdown pregame show averaged 1.8 million viewers across ESPN and NFL Network, up 7% for its third straight week of year-over-year growth.

Falcons-Packers Extends Prime Video’s Record TNF Start

Prime Video’s Thursday Night Football telecast of the Falcons’ win over the Packers averaged 16.82 million viewers and peaked at 19.05 million. It was up 2% from last year’s comparable game and is TNF’s most-watched Week 3 since the package launched in 2022. Through two games, TNF is averaging 17.94 million viewers, up 5% and the package’s best start on record. The audience is also skewing younger. The median age is 48.0, nearly seven years younger than linear NFL audiences (54.7), and viewers 18-34 are up 27% over last season’s average. The TNF Tonight pregame show is up 26% and the TNF Nightcap postgame show is up 29%; both are off to their best starts ever. All figures are from Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

ABC Sweeps Week 4 as ‘College GameDay’ Sets a Record in Knoxville

ESPN swept Saturday’s noon, afternoon and prime windows for the second straight week. Texas-Tennessee on ABC averaged 9.7 million viewers and peaked at 12.9 million. It is the top noon game on any network this season and ESPN’s best Saturday noon game since 2016. Ole Miss-Florida drew 8.3 million (peak: 9.1 million), the season’s top late-afternoon game, and Texas A&M-LSU led prime time with 5.7 million. ESPN networks hold eight of the season’s top 10 games. In its 40th season, College GameDay drew 2.8 million viewers from Rocky Top. That is its most-watched Week 4 episode ever and its fourth most-watched regular-season episode. The show’s final hour drew 3.7 million.

The broader picture is softer. According to Front Office Sports, FBS games are averaging 1.7 million viewers across Nielsen-rated networks through four weeks, down 11% from 2025. Only two games have topped 10 million viewers: Texas-Ohio State (14 million) and LSU-Ole Miss (10.9 million). Eleven games topped 10 million all of last regular season.

NBC Sports’ Postseason Return Delivers Its Biggest Wild Card Audiences

NBC Sports’ first MLB postseason since 2000 opened with record audiences. The New York Yankees’ sweep of the Boston Red Sox in the AL Wild Card Series averaged 7.4 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. That is the most-watched first two games of any Wild Card or Division Series since 2004 and the most-watched Wild Card Series under the current format, which dates to 2020. Game 1 averaged 7.3 million and Game 2 averaged 7.4 million, peaking at 9.2 million. Both are each round’s best since 2006 and 2007, respectively. In the NL series, Phillies-Braves averaged 3.9 million in Game 1 and 4.2 million in Game 2. Both are afternoon records, and the series is up 28% through two games. Figures for Thursday’s Game 3, which Atlanta won 6-2, are due Monday.

FOX Sports Posts Its Best MLB Season Since 2021

FOX’s 2026 MLB regular season averaged 2.35 million viewers, up 15% from 2025. It ranks No. 1 among all networks and is FOX’s best season since 2021. FS1 averaged 359,000 viewers, up 11% and its best season since 2018. The July All-Star Game in Philadelphia averaged 8.68 million viewers, up 21%. That makes it the most-watched MLB All-Star Game since 2018 and the most-watched all-star game in sports this year. The World Baseball Classic averaged 1.3 million viewers across FOX, FS1 and FS2, up 156% from 2023 and the most-watched WBC ever.

WNBA Playoffs Deliver for USA Sports

The Las Vegas Aces’ 94-83 Game 3 win over the Indiana Fever averaged 2.25 million viewers across USA Network and CNBC, peaking at 2.7 million. It is the second most-watched first-round game on record, trailing only IND-CONN Game 2 in 2024 (2.54 million). It was up 93% from the Fever’s 2025 first-round Game 3. Earlier in the week, the Liberty’s Game 2 win over the Lynx averaged 1.06 million viewers. In its first season of WNBA coverage, USA Sports averaged 525,000 viewers across 48 regular-season games, up 25% from the 2025 cable average. Viewership among women was up 34%, and USA Network carries the WNBA Finals starting Oct. 19.

NHL on ESPN Opens Season Up 16%

ESPN’s NHL season opener on Sept. 29 averaged 859,000 viewers. The game was an overtime matchup between the reigning Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes. Viewership was up 16% from last season’s Blackhawks-Panthers opener (743,000), according to Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

U.S. Comeback Lifts Presidents Cup on NBC

The U.S. Presidents Cup team’s dramatic comeback victory over the International squad on Sunday delivered a big boost in TV ratings. NBC drew 2 million viewers for the final round, up from the 1.37 million viewers the network averaged in 2024, when the U.S. won comfortably in Montreal. Despite the uptick this year, viewership for the Presidents Cup this decade is still lower than what it was before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. (FOS)

NASCAR’s Kansas Chase Race Leads Cable on Sunday

Sunday’s NASCAR Cup Series race at Kansas earned a 0.82 household rating and 1.46 million viewers on USA Network, peaking at 1.8 million. It was up 8% from 2025’s comparable New Hampshire race but down 9% from last year’s Kansas race. Through four races, The Chase is averaging 1.7 million viewers, up 6%. Saturday’s rain-delayed Truck Series race averaged 308,000 viewers on FS1 before the stoppage, down 26%. The race finished on FS2 with 68,000 viewers. Friday’s ARCA race on FS1 drew 214,000 viewers, up 27%.

Red Sox Second-Half Surge Gives NESN Its Best Season Since 2019

The Red Sox’s late-season run gave NESN its highest Persons 2+ season average since 2019 and its best Adults 25-54 average since 2018. After the All-Star break, linear viewing rose 44% and streaming jumped 49%. Nine of the season’s 10 most-watched linear games and all 10 of the most-streamed games came in the second half. Younger viewers drove much of the growth: Adults 18-34 rose 51% after the break and were up 16% for the full season. August was the season’s high point, running 34% above the season average. The network’s most-watched game was the Aug. 7 Red Sox-Athletics finale, which capped a nine-game win streak. NESN’s linear figures run through games on Sept. 25.