NFL 2026 season TV ratings & viewership
Every nationally televised NFL game of the 2026 season with its published Nielsen audience: 16 of 19 national windows that have aired carry a published figure, each sourced.
Most-watched telecasts of the 2026 season
| rank | telecast telecast the telecast the figure is attached to, with its air date. A figure with no telecast row is listed without one. Methodology → | figure figure the telecast's lead figure: Nielsen average audience, full telecast, as published. Blank when Nielsen has not published one. Methodology → |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants2026-09-13 · NBC | 25,700,000 |
| 2 | New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks2026-09-09 · NBC | 25,100,000 |
| 3 | Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City Chiefs2026-09-20 · NBC | 24,300,000 |
| 4 | Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs2026-09-14 · ESPN · ABC | 23,200,000 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears2026-09-28 · ESPN · ABC | 22,600,000 |
| 6 | Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos2026-09-27 · NBC | 20,769,000 |
| 7 | Detroit Lions at Carolina Panthers2026-10-04 · NBC | 19,506,000 |
| 8 | New York Giants at Los Angeles Rams2026-09-21 · ESPN · ABC | 19,400,000 |
| 9 | Detroit Lions at Buffalo Bills2026-09-17 · Prime Video | 18,950,000 |
| 10 | San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams2026-09-10 · Netflix | 18,500,000 |
Top 10 of 17 eligible telecasts · computed 2026-10-16 02:34 UTC
Site-computed means by network
| networks | mean |
|---|---|
| NBCmean of 5 published figures | 23,075,000 |
| ABC · ESPNmean of 3 published figures | 21,733,333 |
| Prime Videomean of 4 published figures | 17,273,000 |
Mean of the chart-eligible Nielsen average figures per network set this season, computed by this site. Not a network's own season average.
Every national window with a figure
Week 1
| date | telecast | figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-09 | New England Patriots at Seattle SeahawksNBC | 25,100,000 |
| 2026-09-10 | San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles RamsNetflix | 18,500,000 |
| 2026-09-13 | Dallas Cowboys at New York GiantsNBC | 25,700,000 |
| 2026-09-14 | Denver Broncos at Kansas City ChiefsESPN · ABC | 23,200,000 |
Week 2
| date | telecast | figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-17 | Detroit Lions at Buffalo BillsPrime Video | 18,950,000 |
| 2026-09-20 | Indianapolis Colts at Kansas City ChiefsNBC | 24,300,000 |
| 2026-09-21 | New York Giants at Los Angeles RamsESPN · ABC | 19,400,000 |
Week 3
| date | telecast | figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-09-24 | Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay PackersPrime Video | 16,825,000 |
| 2026-09-27 | Los Angeles Rams at Denver BroncosNBC | 20,769,000 |
| 2026-09-28 | Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago BearsESPN · ABC | 22,600,000 |
Week 4
| date | telecast | figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-01 | Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland BrownsPrime Video | 16,587,000 |
| 2026-10-04 | Indianapolis Colts at Washington CommandersNFL Network | 4,987,000 |
| 2026-10-04 | Detroit Lions at Carolina PanthersNBC | 19,506,000 |
| 2026-10-05 | Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans SaintsESPN | 11,900,000 |
Week 5
| date | telecast | figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-08 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas CowboysPrime Video | 16,730,000 |
| 2026-10-11 | Philadelphia Eagles at Jacksonville JaguarsNFL Network | 8,100,000 |
2 windows awaiting a figure
Week 6
1 window awaiting a figure
3 windows still to air
Week 7
4 windows still to air
Week 8
3 windows still to air
Week 9
4 windows still to air
Week 10
3 windows still to air
Week 11
3 windows still to air
Week 12
7 windows still to air
Week 13
3 windows still to air
Week 14
3 windows still to air
Week 15
5 windows still to air
Week 16
6 windows still to air
Week 17
3 windows still to air
Preseason
| date | telecast | figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-13 | Tennessee Titans at San Francisco 49ersNFL Network | 1,590,000 |
| 2026-08-13 | Green Bay Packers at Pittsburgh SteelersNFL Network | 2,280,000 |
| 2026-08-14 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New York JetsNFL Network | 1,360,000 |
| 2026-08-15 | Cleveland Browns at Chicago BearsNFL Network | 1,650,000 |
| 2026-08-15 | Los Angeles Rams at Kansas City ChiefsNFL Network | 2,380,000 |
| 2026-08-15 | Dallas Cowboys at Seattle SeahawksNFL Network | 2,230,000 |
| 2026-08-20 | Las Vegas Raiders at Houston TexansESPN | 3,400,000 |
| 2026-08-28 | Cincinnati Bengals at Philadelphia EaglesCBS | 2,850,000 |
27 more national windows, no figure on record
Listed apart; not counted in the coverage line.
On record outside the league schedule
| date | telecast | figure |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-08-06 | NFL Hall of Fame Game - Cardinals vs PanthersNBC | 6,990,000 |
Telecasts of this league and season that carry a figure and no league-schedule row; not counted in the coverage line.