NFL Thanksgiving Day games draw record audiences in 2022

We normally hold off until Tuesday (or, in holiday weeks, Wednesday) to report the NFL’s weekly viewership, but the league’s Thanksgiving marks were too ridiculous not to bring you early.

The early game between the Bills and Lions aired on CBS. 31.627 million watched the game, making it the the most-watched Thanksgiving Day game in the early window ever.

NFL ON CBS Scores with the Most-Watched Early Thanksgiving Day Game on Record as Bills-Lions Delivers 31.627 Million Viewers

Full Release: https://t.co/oUXbIILRDV pic.twitter.com/50SCKbyTl1

— CBS Sports PR (@CBSSportsGang) November 25, 2022

Not to be outdone, Fox’s broadcast of Cowboys-Giants in the late afternoon averaged 42 million viewers. That’s the most-watched NFL regular season game *ever*.

https://twitter.com/FOXSportsPR/status/1596265164101357568?s=20&t=QGbpKBQgsmjPunVWLMDZ8g

In primetime, NBC held up its end up the bargain. The network’s broadcast of Vikings-Patriots averaged “more than 26 million viewers,” including Telemundo and Peacock viewers. That’s good for the NFL’s second most-watched primetime Thanksgiving game ever, behind just 2015.

NBC Sports' Thanksgiving Night @Patriots–@Vikings Game Tops 26 Million Viewers; Sets Records Across Multiple Platforms

Full Release: https://t.co/zqu55aM2jo pic.twitter.com/S6MMyKNK4w

— NBC Sports PR (@NBCSportsPR) November 25, 2022

The big caveat here is that out of home viewing was included with this viewership data, as it was over the last two years. That makes apples to apples comparisons easier for the last three Thanksgivings, but far more complicated when looking at games in the years before.

Last year’s three games averaged 29.7 million, which was then the most-watched trio of Thanksgiving Day games since 1998. This year’s games will certainly exceed that mark, crossing 33 million per game with the numbers reported by the networks on Friday.