The NFL and its TV partners had a good year in 2019.
Austin Karp of Sports Business Journal reports that viewership was up 5 percent for the 2019 season compared to the 2018 season. The average game in 2019 got 16.498 million viewers, compared to 15.759 million viewers for the 2018 season.
All four of the NFL’s TV partners -- NBC, CBS, FOX and ESPN -- had averaged more viewers in 2019 than in 2018. However, NFL Network saw its slate of games (which included three Week 16 Saturday games, two early-season Thursday night games and two Sunday morning games from London) decline in viewership in 2019.
The league’s strong television ratings are coming at a time when much of the programming on broadcast networks and cable channels is declining, thanks to streaming options leading to cord cutting and fractured viewership. The NFL is the one safe bet in the TV business.
