Tag: viewership

Georgia mascot Hairy Dawg arrives before the start of a NCAA college football game against Massachusetts in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024.

Nielsen numbers: Georgia was most-watched team in 2024

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Georgia Bulldogs were the most-watched team during the 2024 college football regular season, according to Nielsen numbers released Wednesday.

Georgia (11-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) averaged 8.6 million viewers per game, boosted by its marquee matchups with Alabama on Sept. 28 (12 million) and Texas on Oct. 19 (13 million).

The Bulldogs’ 30-15 victory against the then-No. 1 Longhorns in Austin was the season’s most-watched game.

Ohio State (6.8 million) ranked second in average total viewership, with Alabama (6.6), Texas (6.4) and Tennessee (5.4) rounding out the top five. They were followed by Michigan (5.2), Texas A&M (4.9), LSU (4.8), Kentucky (4.5) and Florida (4.3).

For the first time, Nielsen also announced its “conference champions” list of the most-watched teams in each FBS league: Army (AAC), Miami (ACC), Colorado (Big 12), Ohio State (Big Ten), UTEP (Conference USA), Notre Dame (independents), Colorado State (Mountain West), Oregon State (Pac-12), Georgia (SEC) and Marshall (Sun Belt).

Per Nielsen, more than 154 billion minutes of college football were watched live this season across the networks owned by Disney, FOX, NBC and others.

–Field Level Media

Sep 5, 2024; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Kansas City Chiefs starting quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) and wide receiver Xavier Worthy (1) talk with reporter Melissa Stark after defeating the Baltimore Ravens at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-Imagn Images

Chiefs-Ravens opener draws top Thursday opener rating

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The dramatic first game of the NFL season between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens drew record viewership numbers for a Thursday opener.

An average of 28.9 million people watched the game, which the host Chiefs won 27-20 when an apparent last-second Ravens touchdown was overturned on a video review.

The NFL first started Thursday openers in 2002. The previous high rating for one of those contests was 27.6 million in 2015, when the New England Patriots opposed the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Last year’s Thursday opener, in which the Detroit Lions upset the Chiefs, was seen by 27.5 million.

The total from the Chiefs-Ravens game included 24.3 million watching on NBC plus 4.6 million viewers on Peacock plus NFL and NBC streaming options.

Viewership reached its high point in the second quarter at 33 million, around 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET. The game didn’t end until nearly midnight ET due in part to a pregame weather delay.

According to NBC, among the 44 markets whose ratings were available, the biggest markets for the game were Kansas City (43.4 rating, 80 share), Baltimore (24.5, 60), Denver (18.0, 50), St. Louis (17.0, 46) and Norfolk, Va. (16.9, 49). The rating is the percent of all televisions in the market watching, while the share is the percent of television in use at the time that were watching.

–Field Level Media

San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey (23) scores a touchdown on a 39-yard run during the third quarter of their NFC divisional playoff game Saturday, January 20, 2024 at Levi Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The San Francisco 49ers beat the Green Bay Packers 24-21.

Packers-49ers projected to set 30-year U.S. broadcast mark

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The primetime Green Bay Packers-San Francisco 49ers divisional playoff game is projected to be the most-watched Saturday telecast on any U.S. network since the 1994 Winter Olympics, Front Office Sports reported Monday.

An average of 37.5 million viewers watched San Francisco rally for a 24-21 victory against Green Bay on Fox Sports, making it that network’s most-watched Saturday telecast in its 37-year history.

The popularity of the two franchises helped to make it the most-watched Saturday NFL divisional game ever, with a 31 percent increase over last season’s meeting between the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants.

Viewership data from Saturday’s earlier game that saw the Baltimore Ravens defeat the Houston Texans has not yet been released.

–Field Level Media

Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is tackled by Philadelphia Eagles linebacker T.J. Edwards (57) during the second quarter in Super Bowl LVII at State Farm Stadium in Glendale on Feb. 12, 2023. Nfl Super Bowl Lvii Kansas City Chiefs Vs Philadelphia Eagles

Nielsen: 113M watched Super Bowl, No. 3 TV broadcast of all time

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Super Bowl LVII earned an average TV audience of 113 million people, Nielsen reported Monday, making it the third most-watched Super Bowl on record and the third most-watched television broadcast of all time.

The Kansas City Chiefs’ 38-35 win over the Philadelphia Eagles came up just shy of the record of 114.4 million viewers, on average, that watched the New England Patriots beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015.

Super Bowl LI, the Patriots’ famed 34-28 comeback win over the Atlanta Falcons in February 2017, hit 113.7 million for Fox between network and streaming, making Chiefs-Eagles Fox Sports’ second most-watched broadcast ever.

About 106 million viewers watched Super Bowl LVII on Fox and Fox Deportes, and the other seven million utilized streaming platforms that factored into the total.

It represents a modest bump over last year’s Super Bowl between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals, which reported 112.3 million viewers on average.

Rihanna’s halftime show drew an average of 118.7 million viewers, Nielsen said, making it the second most-watched Super Bowl halftime performance on record.

The average of seven million streams made Super Bowl LVII the most-streamed Super Bowl to date, Fox said.

Predictably, Kansas City and Philadelphia were the top two metered markets for the broadcast, followed by Cincinnati, Detroit and Pittsburgh.

Final Nielsen data is expected to be released Tuesday.

–Field Level Media

Jan 30, 2022; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow (9) smiles while being interviewed by CBS personality Jim Nantz after winning the AFC Championship Game against the Kansas City Chiefs at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. The Cincinnati Bengals won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports

NFL championship games attracted huge TV audiences

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The Los Angeles Rams’ dramatic win over the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday was one of the most-watched television shows of the century.

The Cincinnati Bengals’ comeback against the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC title game was a ratings winner, too.

The NFC Championship Game drew 50.2 million viewers, making it one of just 11 non-Super Bowls to hit the 50 million mark since the last episode of “Seinfeld” attracted 76.3 million in 1998. Of those 11, only the final episode of “Friends” in 2004 (52.5 million) wasn’t an NFL conference championship game.

The Bengals-Chiefs game had 47.9 million viewers, up from 41.85 million for the previous season’s AFC Championship Game. The prior NFC title game had 44.8 million viewers.

Overall, last week’s two games saw a 10 percent increase in viewership from the same weekend last year and a 16 percent jump from the conference championship games in January 2020.

The NFC Championship Game drew its highest rating in eight years, while the AFC Championship Game posted its best rating in four years.

Last year’s Super Bowl between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chiefs drew an average of 91.6 million viewers, the lowest figure for a Super Bowl since 2006. The record was set by Super Bowl XLIX in February 2015, when the New England Patriots’ win over the Seattle Seahawks attracted 114.4 million viewers.

–Field Level Media