The NFL preseason is drawing viewership numbers that most professional sports leagues would take during their regular seasons.
According to a report by Austin Karp in Sports Business Journal, NFL Network earned its best Week 1 preseason audience on record last week, in part thanks to a strong number for Shedeur Sanders’ debut in a Cleveland Browns uniform.
Friday night’s Browns-Panthers game clocked in at 2.24 million viewers, making it the second most-watched game of preseason Week 1. Honors for the top game went to the Miami Dolphins-Chicago Bears on Sunday, traditionally a much stronger day for television viewing, which drew 2.34 million viewers. Per Karp, NFL Network had its best single-game audience since 2015.
In total, NFL preseason games accounted for four of the top six live sports audiences of the week, including two of the top three. The most-watched sporting event of the week was the final round of the PGA Tour’s St. Jude Championship on NBC, which averaged 3.6 million viewers on Sunday afternoon.
Rounding out the NFL Network slate, Sunday’s New Orleans Saints-Los Angeles Chargers game averaged 2.18 million viewers, while Saturday’s Houston Texans-Minnesota Vikings game averaged 2.15 million viewers. Per Sports Media Watch, The New York Giants-Buffalo Bills game scared up 1.81 million viewers, with the New York Jets-Green Bay Packers game earning 1.73 million viewers, each also on Saturday. Thursday’s Indianapolis Colts-Baltimore Ravens game drew 1.89 million viewers.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.