The rebranded Pro Bowl Games drew 6.28 million viewers across ABC, ESPN, and Disney XD, down from last year’s total of 6.69 million viewers.
But despite the decline in viewership, I feel like that audience is fine, given the drastic shift in format and the disappointing viewership for Thursday’s Skills Competition.
This wasn’t a game that mattered, and it wasn’t even a tackle football game – it was flag football! And over six million people still watched!
The Pro Bowl Games on Sunday was also the most-watched sporting event of the week by a fair margin. Only one other event, Fox’s broadcast of NASCAR’s Clash on Sunday night, even topped three million viewers.
While the change in format didn’t result in a viewership spike, there wasn’t a steep decline either, with the gradual slide we’ve seen in All-Star Games across all sports over the years continuing.
Overall, this isn’t a phenomenal number, but I think one that ESPN and the NFL will take. I don’t think there will be another drastic format shift for the Pro Bowl in 2024, and they’ll run this back next year with some tweaks.
[Data via ShowBuzz Daily]
About Joe Lucia
I hate your favorite team. I also sort of hate most of my favorite teams.