Similar to other demographics, young women’s NFL watching is influenced much more by what happens on the field than what happens off it.
As mentioned, NBC’s Football on Sunday evenings (Cowboys-49ers) led Week 5 of the NFL season with 24.29 million Nielsen-measured viewers. Perhaps even more notable, given last week’s narrative, is the fact that the game drew 685,000 viewers in the demo, the largest NFL audience of the season among women and girls ages 12 to 24 – nearly 20% higher than the lot discussed Chiefs-Jets game the previous Sunday evening (576,000). (And this despite the overall audience lagging behind the Chiefs-Jets.)
The three most-watched games in the female 12-24 demo this season all featured Dallas, with the Cowboys scoring 35 points against the Patriots in second place with 654,000 (same day as the Chiefs-Jets) in their 20-point win Jets’ Week 2 loss ranked third (647,000). By comparison, the Chiefs’ most-watched game in the demo this season was not their matchup against the Jets (or the week before against the Bears), but Sunday’s game against the Vikings with 609,000 viewers.
While NBC announced a massive increase in female viewership for the game between the Chiefs and Jets, it was only compared to the top three Football on Sunday evenings games this season. Nevertheless, there was no shortage of reports that implied a much more significant change in viewing habits. A Wall Street Journal The weekend’s headline said Chiefs-Jets numbers showed “fathers and daughters are finally watching football together.”
In other action from Week 5, the latest edition of Monday Night Football (Packers-Raiders) averaged a 9.5 rating and 17.38 million viewers on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 – the highest in Week 5 MNF Audience since at least 2000. MNF has now reached at least a 14-year high three times in five weeks this season, with the caveat that ABC is simulcasting nearly all Monday night games this season.
Ratings increased 9% and viewership increased 10% last year for Raiders-Chiefs, which aired on the ESPN cable networks alone (8.7, 15.79M).
Back to Sunday: The national NFL window (mainly Chiefs-Vikings) averaged 11.6 and 23.13 million on CBS – a decline of 4% in ratings and 5% in viewership compared to last year on FOX (mainly Cowboys-Rams: 12.0, 24.25 million). This marks the fourth straight week that ratings and viewership have declined for what is traditionally the most-watched NFL broadcast of a given week.
CBS also saw a decline in the first half of its doubleheader (mostly Ravens-Steelers), coming in at 6.7 (-3%) and 12.63 million (-1%). Despite the declines, CBS not only remains in the running this season, but is also averaging its highest five-week average since it resumed NFL coverage in 1998. (Note that Nielsen’s final national games before 2020 do not include away broadcasts became).
Over on FOX, single-header action Eagles-Rams or Giants-Dolphins averaged 8.4 and 16.81 million, respectively – up 10% and 14%, respectively, from last year on CBS (7.6, 14, 70 million).
Rounding out the Week 5 slate was the Jaguars-Bills International Series game from London, which averaged a 2.7 and 5.13 million viewers on NFL Network, down 9% in ratings and 2% in viewership the Giants-Packers last year (3.0, 5.22 million).
The full list of this season’s NFL ratings can be found on the linked page.
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