Ratings Roundup: NFL Network’s Broadcast of Seahawks-Bucs in Munich Sees 5.8 Million Viewers; Becomes Most-Watched International Game

Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press releases and reports around the industry. In this week’s edition, NFL Network’s presentation of Seahawks-Buccaneers in Munich was the most-watched international game on record, Formula 1 saw the largest live U.S. TV audience ever for the Brazilian Grand Prix, and more.

Seahawks-Buccaneers on NFL Network Is Most-Watched International Game on Record

Viewership for Sunday’s game featuring the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ 21-16 win over the Seattle Seahawks in Munich was 5.8 million viewers (TV+Digital) – surpassing the New York Giants-Green Bay Packers Week 5 game from London this year to be NFL Network’s most-watched International game on record (2016-present).

The 5.8 million viewers for Seahawks-Buccaneers on TV and Digital is up +5% versus Giants-Packers in Week 5, up +19% versus Minnesota Vikings vs. New Orleans in Week 4 from London this year, and up +63% versus last year’s Week 5 matchup from London between the New York Jets and Atlanta Falcons.

The three International games on NFL Network this season – Vikings-Saints, Giants-Packers and Seahawks-Buccaneers – were the three most-watched International games ever on the network.

Digital streaming across NFL digital platforms (including NFL+) delivered an average minute audience of 259K –the second-highest digital AMA on record for an NFL Network International game behind only Giants-Packers from Week 5 this year.

Live NFL games on NFL Network continue this season with a Week 15 Saturday tripleheader on December 17 (matchups to be announced at a later date) and the Las Vegas Raiders at Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday, December 24 at 8:15 PM ET.

Other notes from the game include:

• German broadcaster ProSieben saw a record-breaking 2.7 million viewers watch the game, making it the most-watched NFL regular season or playoff game ever in Germany— only trailing the last three Super Bowls as the most-watched NFL game of all-time
• DAZN Germany confirmed the game was the most viewed single NFL broadcast, after Super Bowl, on their streaming platform
• NFL Germany’s social media channels during the Munich game week saw 20 million video views (up 360% vs. an average week), 3.4 million fan interactions (up 717% vs. an average week) and 30,000 new followers across channels (up 526% vs. an average week)

Formula 1 Brazilian Grand Prix Attracts 1.4 Million Viewers on ABC; Largest Live U.S. TV Audience Ever for Event

Viewership for Formula 1’s Brazilian Grand Prix was up 69% over the 2021 Telecast on ESPN2 (831,000). The race was the third-largest F1 U.S. TV audience of 2022, only behind the  Miami (2.6 million viewers) and Canadian (1.7 million) Grand Prix events. F1 races this year are averaging 1.2 million viewers across ESPN, ESPN2, and ABC – up 29% over 2021 (949,000).

Blockbuster NESN Viewership Matches Boston Bruins’ Historic Start

NESN household viewership is up 34% in impressions versus the 2021-22 season to date as the Boston Bruins claim the longest win streak at home in club history with a 9-0 record at TD Garden. The Bruins also hold the best record in the National Hockey League (NHL) at 14-2-0 to date.

In addition to the year-over-year rise in household viewership, the adult 25-54 audience has grown in impressions by 12% versus the same amount of games last season. The women 25-54 audience has experienced a 44% jump versus last season. On the household level, Bruins hockey on NESN has been a top three program on TV 85% of the time, and has been a top five program on TV every game to date.

Fans have more access to the Boston Bruins than ever before with NESN’s all-new streaming service for the 2022-23 Bruins season, NESN 360. The streaming product features all live Bruins games on NESN via authentication with all major TV providers or a direct subscription. Streaming numbers have broken records, jumping 47% in unique streams versus last season to date. Part of this is attributed to 45% of fans accessing NESN 360’s 4K/HDR stream.

TelevisaUnivision Celebrates a Fantastic Year of Sports Leading with 61% of the Total Soccer Viewership in the U.S. Among A18-49

TelevisaUnivision delivered a record-breaking year of sports. The network held 61% of the total U.S. soccer television audience A18-49 regardless of language. Additionally, Univision network holds 9 of top 10 rated soccer matches in 2022 among P2+ and A18-49 with its coverage of prestigious properties like Liga MX, Mexico’s Men’s National Team, and UEFA properties. The network’s sports division and undisputed Home of Soccer, TUDN, also brings its 10th consecutive year as the No. 1 Spanish Language sports network in day and primetime.

Driven by Hispanic’s passion for sports and the company’s unrivaled soccer portfolio, the 2022 leading sports coverage reached 25M total viewers through its soccer properties alone including through the most watched game of the year, a defining and exciting World Cup qualifier matchup between Mexico and USA on March 24, 2022, which averaged 2.96M P2+ and 1.4M A18-49.

Additional Highlights:

• Univision network aired 9 of the top 10 rated soccer matches this year among P2+ and A18-49 with its coverage Liga MX, Mexico’s Men’s National Team, and UEFA.
• TUDN, The Home of Soccer, is the #1 Spanish Language sports network for 10th consecutive year in total daytime and primetime among P2+ and A18-49. It is the youngest sports network, regardless of language, with a median age of 46.
• Mexico’s Men’s National Team on Univision holds 5 of the top 10 soccer matches this year among A18-49, regardless of language.
• Liga MX, the #1 club soccer league in the U.S., delivered the highest rated Liga MX year on Univision since 2017 with 939K P2+ and 451K A18-49 across 2022 Clausura and Apertura seasons on Univision. Liga MX on Univision is the top-rated club soccer league in the US with TU holding 52% share of the total club soccer viewership in 2022 among A18-49.
• UEFA Champion’s League 2022 group stage coverage delivered 2nd highest rated group stage viewership in UCL history, regardless of language, among P2+ and A18-49. This year also marked the first time-ever in the U.S. that every single UEFA club competition game was available for fans on a single Spanish Language streaming service, ViX+.
• UEFA Europa League is pacing above last year’s record-breaking season with a 2022 group stage on UNIMAS averaging 251K P2+ and 103K A18-49, a + 21% vs. a year ago with P2+ and +7% A18-49.
• MLS Cup on Univision delivered the 2nd highest rated MLS Cup in Spanish Language history with 668K P2+ and 340K A1849.

TNF on Prime Video Continues to Attract Younger Viewers

TNF on Prime continues to trend younger and post figures unmatched by the linear networks. Through nine games, TNF on Prime is averaging 2.24M viewers in the hard-to-reach P18-34 demographic, which is up +20% vs. last year’s TNF on FOX + NFLN + PV (1.86M).

• Through nine games, TNF on Prime is averaging 4.91M viewers in the P18-49 demographic, which is up +1% vs. last year’s TNF on FOX + NFLN + PV (4.85M).

Through nine games, nearly two-thirds of Thursday Night Football’s audience is under the age of 55.

• 66% of TNF’s total audience is under 55, averaging 6.34M. Last season, when TNF was presented via tri-cast on FOX + NFLN + PV, the percentage of viewers under 55 was 53% (6.69M).

Through nine weeks, the median age of the TNF on Prime audience is 46, which is 8 years younger than the NFL average on linear networks.

According to Amazon’s first-party measurement and Nielsen Media research, last night’s Thursday Night Football matchup on Prime Video averaged 8.00 million viewers (AMA).

Based on Nielsen Media Research figures alone, TNF on Prime averaged 6.80M for last night’s game (including OTA and OOH).

Through nine weeks, TNF on Prime’s audience engagement continues to rank above NFL windows on linear networks, with Prime Video viewers devoting 84.8 Average Minutes Watched per game, which is up +15% compared to NFL on linear networks (vs. 74.0; 1 minute qualifier, P2+).

Season-to-date, Thursday Night Football is averaging 11.4M, according to Amazon’s first-party measurement.

Through nine games, Thursday Night Football is averaging 9.65M, according to Nielsen Media Research.

ESPN’s Monday Night Football Delivers Nearly 13 Million Viewers for Commanders-Eagles

ESPN’s Monday Night Football delivered an audience of nearly 13 million viewers for the Washington Commanders- Philadelphia Eagles (November 14, 8:15 p.m. ET). The audience of 12.8 million viewers (ESPN and ESPN Deportes) is up 3% from last season’s MNF Week 10 matchup (Rams-49ers), which aired on ESPN2 in addition to ESPN.

Furthermore, this week’s Commanders-Eagles audience of 12.8 million viewers is MNF’s second-most watched Week 10 matchup since 2012.

Amongst all of television, ESPN had the most-watched telecast of the night and won the night among all broadcast and cable.

America’s Game of the Week Hits Best Start Since 2016

At 29.2 million viewers, America’s Game of the Week (AGOTW) on Fox was the most-watched NFL game of the season on any network and was up +25% over last year’s comparable window (23,580,000). Season-to-date, AGOTW is averaging 24,251,000 viewers, up +11% over last year (21,914,000) and the window’s best performance through Week 10 since 2016. Season-to-date, AGOTW ranks as the most-watched program in all of television.

Highlighted by Minnesota-Buffalo, the Fox NFL regional window reached 16.2 million viewers and was the network’s best performance for a regional game this season. The game was also up +29% over Week 10 last season (12,575,000).

Through Week 10, FOX NFL is averaging 18,014,000 viewers, up +2% over last year (17,737,000).

ESPN College Football Scores Three of the Top Five Audiences in Week 11, College GameDay on Pace for Best Season Ever

ESPN/ABC scores three of the top five audiences in Week 11, including TCU vs. Texas with 5 million viewers (the most-watched Big 12 game of the season and the top game in primetime in Week 11), Nebraska vs. Michigan with 3.9 million viewers, and LSU vs. Arkansas with 3.6 million viewers (the top noon game in Week 11). Through 11 week, ABC/ESPN/ESPN 2 is averaging the best audience since 2017.

As for College Gameday, the show saw 2,152,000 viewers — up 8% from 2021’s Week 11. As college football’s No. 1 pregame show, the final hour saw 2.846 million viewers