Decline in NFL viewership continues for second consecutive week in Week 6
The NFL's impressive streak of high ratings at the start of the season experienced its second consecutive decline in Week 6, according to Sports Media Watch.
The week began with a NFC West matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Seattle Seahawks, but the ratings for Thursday Night Football on Amazon Prime dropped by 5 percent compared to the same week last year.
Meanwhile, Fox's Sunday afternoon games saw a 13 percent decrease in viewership, partially due to the Detroit Lions' blowout win over the Dallas Cowboys, which was down 8 percent from the Eagles-Jets game in 2023.
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This trend continued into the final game of the day, with the Cincinnati Bengals' victory over the New York Giants drawing in 15.44 million viewers - the lowest for a Sunday Night Football broadcast since 2020.
Week 6 ended with a close game between AFC East rivals, the Buffalo Bills and the New York Jets. Despite the star power of quarterbacks Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers, the game only brought in 17.3 million viewers, down from 19.64 million for last year's Cowboys vs. Chargers matchup. However, it was still a strong finish to an otherwise lackluster week, making it the second-highest Monday Night audience for Week 6 since 2000, according to Sports Media Watch.
Ratings may see an improvement in Week 7, which begins with Sean Payton's return to New Orleans as the Denver Broncos' coach on Thursday night. So far this season, Amazon Prime games have averaged 13.98 million viewers on Thursday nights, an 18 percent increase from the full-season average in 2023.
Sunday's lineup is highlighted by the Super Bowl rematch between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs on Fox.
