Showing that compared to other sports, the NFL is a universe unto its own, at the half-way point in the 2013 season, the National Football League is smashing the competition in the television ratings and overall viewership department.
Currently, NFL games account for the 18 most-watched programs on television since the NFL season kicked off on Sept. 5, as well as 19 of the top 20 (see the chart below). Through Week 9, NBC’s Sunday Night Football accounts for the seven most-watched primetime shows this fall.
In addition, the average NFL game telecast (including broadcast and cable) has drawn 16.8 million viewers (vs. 16.0 million at this point in 2012) – more than double the average primetime viewership (7.5 million) for the big four broadcast networks in the new television season, according to information provided by The Nielsen Company.
The question is, is football becoming so popular on television that fans would rather watch from the comfort of their home rather than pay to see games in-person at stadiums across the country? The NFL has seen attendance drop in five consecutive seasons, and has recently loosened up on the blackout policy in an effort to try and draw more fans to the stadium. Still, the problem the NFL faces is one that the other Big-4 sports would like to have.
The NBA, NHL, and MLB would love to have these ratings numbers.
Other notables around NFL ratings:
- An NFL game telecast has been television’s most-watched program in each of the season’s first nine weeks (tied with 2012 and up from seven of the first nine weeks in 2011).
