It appears that excitement for this NFL season is particularly high.
According to NFL Media, the league saw its highest preseason television audiences since 2018 this year. An average of 2.2 million viewers watched the nationally televised preseason contests across NFL Network and the league’s other broadcast partners (which air one preseason game each). That figure is up 17% versus last season’s preseason viewership.
It should be noted, the NFL’s figures include both linear and digital audiences.
🚨2025 NFL Preseason🚨
*2025 @NFL Preseason avg. 2.2 million viewers — most-watched Preseason since 2018 & up +17% vs. 2024
*Live Preseason games on @nflnetwork avg. 1.8 million viewers — highest Preseason on record & up +26% vs. 2024 pic.twitter.com/7WMiTEhLke
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) August 27, 2025
NFL Network itself had a very solid preseason as well. Its preseason slate averaged 1.8 million viewers per game, the network’s highest preseason viewership on record. The figure marks a 26% increase versus last season’s preseason viewership.
Week 1 of this year’s preseason was particularly strong, with Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders making his NFL debut. Sanders’ first game averaged 2.24 million viewers on NFL Network, well above the channel’s preseason-long average. Coverage of Sanders was the predominant story for the preseason, even though it may have bordered on the absurd at times for what ended up being the third-string quarterback for the Browns.
This year’s Hall of Fame Game averaged 6.21 million viewers on NBC, the most-watched edition of the game in four years. Fox’s preseason broadcast featuring the Chicago Bears and Buffalo Bills averaged 5.1 million viewers on Sunday, August 17, marking a four-year high for the network as well.
Will this year’s early excitement translate into the regular season? Time will tell, but the numbers are encouraging for the league so far.
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.