Despite not being available to 11M DirecTV customers, ESPN’s Monday Night Football was still off to a strong start with its 49ers-Jets season opener.
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The 49ers squashed Aaron Rodgers’ return to the field with a 32-19 win that drew 20.5M viewers across linear and streaming, making it the second most-watched Week 1 matchup in the ESPN era (since 2006). The game was telecast across ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN+, ESPN Deportes, and NFL+.
It couldn’t beat last season when 22.7M tuned in to watch the Buffalo Bills at New York Jets, but its still a win for the Disney-owned networks as the carriage dispute with DirecTV becomes more contentious by the day . Both companies have been offering customers streaming solutions to help bridge the gap.
But, NBC and Peacock were the real Week 1 champions, amassing 29.2M viewers for the Kansas City Chiefs’ 27-20 win over the Baltimore Ravens to kick off the season last Thursday. On Sunday, about 22.7M tuned in across linear and streaming for the Rams-Lions.
Through Monday, NBC Sports averaged 25.9M viewers across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital platforms, which is up 4% from last year and a nine-year high. The Chiefs-Ravens kickoff game is the second most-watched regular season game for the network since it acquired the Sunday Night Football package in 2006, trailing only behind the Washington-Dallas Week 17 matchup that finished off the 2012 season. That one had 30.3M viewers.
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Peacock also boasted exclusive rights to the Eagles-Packers game, averaging 14M viewers. That’s the second most-watched live event ever on Peacock, behind January’s AFC Wild Card Game.
As for the rest of NFL’s Week 1 broadcast lineup, Fox was off to a solid start, presenting the Dallas Cowboys vs. Cleveland Browns as America’s Game of the Week for most of the country with 23.9M viewers tuning in to the matchup. That the network’s best Week 1 NFL telecast in four years, up 47% compared to last season’s 16.2M in Week 1.
Fox’s doubleheader, which also featured a swath of regional games in the early window, averaged 18.6M viewers, which is a 40% increase from last season. It’s the network’s best start to an NFL season in four years, though it’s important to note that Fox had the advantage of not having to compete with CBS, as the two have aired dueling doubleheaders the past four years.
That being said, CBS also suffered with just a singleheader this season, averaging 17.8M viewers on Sunday, airing several regional games. The network says that’s up 28% from its last Week 1 singleheader — which is the norm, while the past four years have been a bit of an exception.
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