Steelers-Ravens Week 8 matchup helped CBS to its best singleheader figure in four yearsGETTY IMAGES
After two consecutive seasons of growth, the NFL is poised to post a TV audience decline as viewership is down 8% headed into the final four weeks of the season. Given the state of sports TV ratings in '20, league execs will not be downcast by any single-digit drop. However, it is noteworthy any time the country’s biggest league shows a decrease. NFL games are averaging 15.3 million viewers vs. 16.7 million at the same time last season. Each of the NFL’s media partners -- Fox, CBS, ESPN/ABC and NBC -- are seeing declines for their packages. Sunday afternoons are faring better than primetime, with Fox and CBS down 6% and 5%, respectively. The only Sunday window seeing a gain right now is CBS’ six singleheaders (+2%), boosted by a Week 8 figure featuring the first Steelers-Ravens matchup. That helped CBS to its best singleheader figure in four years. While “SNF” remains on pace to be the most-viewed primetime show for the 10th straight TV season, the slate of games is off 16% to date (17.4 million viewers vs. 20.7 million). ESPN/ABC are averaging 11.7 million viewers for “MNF,” down 6%, while Fox/NFL Network are down 5% for “TNF.”
