Ratings Roundup: ESPN Secures One of the Most-Watched Monday Night Football Games Ever with Lions at Ravens
Story Highlights
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, FOX Sports’ ‘Game of the Week’ is most watched telecast that week across all networks; TNF on Prime sees +23% growth YOY, and more.
ESPN’s Lions at Ravens Generates More than 22.8 Million Viewers, One of ESPN’s Most-Watched Monday Night Football Games Ever
The more than 22.8 million viewers for the Lions-Ravens surpass more than 340 regular season Monday Night Football games on ESPN (2006 – present), trailing only the Super Bowl rematch between Philadelphia and Kansas City (2023 season), among traditional Monday Night Football games.
ESPN’s 2023 Christmas night MNF special (Ravens at 49ers) and 2023 MNF Week 17 (Lions at Cowboys), played on a Saturday due to the New Year’s holiday, join Eagles-Chiefs as the only MNF games to generate a larger audience than Lions-Ravens since 2006.
More Highlights:
- Lions and Ravens peaked at 25.4 million viewers late in the first half.
- Monday Night Football with Peyton and Eli (ESPN2) generated a 6% larger audience for Lions-Ravens compared to the show’s Week 1 viewership, averaging 887,000 viewers in Week 3.
- Monday Night Countdown averaged 1.7 million viewers (6 – 8 p.m.).
The NASCAR Cup Series Race Had 1.29 Million Viewers, Ranking Second on Cable
NASCAR Cup Series: Sunday’s event earned a 0.70 household rating on USA Network, with an average of 1.29 million viewers tuned in per minute, ranking as the #2 sport of the weekend on cable television behind select NCAAF games on ESPN
At peak, 1.75 million viewers were tuned in 5PM-5:15PM NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series: Saturday night’s event earned a 0.22 household rating on FS1, with an average of 396,000 viewers tuned in per minute
At peak, 482,000 viewers were tuned in from 2PM-2:15PM
Weekend Motorsports, ranked by audience size:
- NCS (New Hampshire): 1.29 million viewers on USA
- Formula 1 (Azerbaijan): 870,000 viewers on ESPN
- NCTS (New Hampshire): 396,000 viewers on FS1
- IMSA (Indianapolis): 394,000 viewers on NBC
- NHRA (Charlotte): 187,000 viewers on FS1
- ARCA (Salem): 31,000 viewers on FS2
NASCAR Cup Series Mobil One 301 -Aired Sunday, September 21st on USA
- U.S. Rating
- 2025: 0.70
- Down -27% versus 2024 Kansas II on USA (Playoff race #4, 0.96)
- Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)
- 2025: 1.29 million
- Down -28% versus 2024 Kansas II on USA (Playoff race #4, 1.79 million)
NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series EJP 175 – Aired Saturday September 20th on FS1
- U.S. Rating
- 2025: 0.22
- No YOY comparison – No NCTS Saturday races in September ’24
- Avg. Viewers (all ages P2+)
- 2025: 396,000
- No YOY comparison – No NCTS Saturday races in September ’24
College GameDay Built by The Home Depot Resumes Record Start to the Season; ESPN/ABC Deliver Week 4’s Top Two Most-Viewed Games and Three of the Top Five
COLLEGE GAME DAY
- 2nd most-watched episode ever (Week 4 at Miami)
- 2.8M viewers from 9a-noon ET
- Up 33% over ’24 Week 4
- 3.4M viewers in the final hour
- Tripled the competition head-to-head
- Full show peak: 4.4M viewers
- Season-to-date, pacing +37% from 2024
ABC Airs Top 2 Most-Viewed Games of Week 4
- ESPN networks off to best start for CFB since 2009 (2.7M average viewers | up 37% YOY)
- ABC boasts four-week start since 2006 (7.1M average viewers | up 40% YOY)
- UF vs UMiami
- 6.5M viewers
- Peak: 7.4M. vieweres
- Auburn vs Oklahoma
- 6.1M viewers
- Peak: 8.2M viewers
- Syracuse vs Clemson
- 3.4M viewers
- Peak: 3.7M viewers
ESPN Scores Second Most-Watched WNBA Playoffs First Round Ever
- First round of 2025 WNBA Playoffs averaged 943K viewers on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2
- Behind only ’24 playoffs
- WNBA Countdown Presented by Google
- Averaged 382K viewers in the first round, up 4% YoY
Another F1 Race, Another Viewership Record on ESPN: Azerbaijan Grand Prix Gets Its Largest Audience Ever
The audience was up from the race’s previous record of 970,000 set in 2021. Last year’s race, which was the first time the race was run in September after having previously been held earlier in the season, averaged 865,000 viewers.
The race also averaged 420,000 viewers in the Persons ages 18-49 demographic.
Of the 17 F1 races held so far this season, all but one (Miami) have seen year-over-year viewership increases and 11 of the 17 (Australia, China, Monaco, Spain, Canada, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, The Netherlands, Italy, Azerbaijan) scored event record audiences.
Across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC, F1 races are averaging 1.4 million viewers, ahead of the all-time U.S. television record average of 1.21 million that was set in 2022.
FOX Sports’ AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK Remains Most-Watched Telecast of the Week on Any Network
25,473,000 AVERAGE VIEWERS WATCHED AMERICA’S GAME OF THE WEEK (AGOTW) FEATURING THE CHICAGO BEARS WIN OVER THE DALLAS COWBOYS
- For the second consecutive week, AGOTW was the most-watched telecast of the week on any network
- FOX Sports’ AGOTW currently stands as the #1 program in all of television
- Season-to-date, AGOTW is averaging 29,502,000 viewers; up +15% over last year’s season-to-date average (vs. 25,656,000)
FOX NFL REGIONAL WINDOW: 15,548,000 VIEWERS
- Up +7% over last season’s FOX NFL Week 3 delivery (vs. 14,578,000)
FOX NFL SUNDAY: 5,227,000 VIEWERS
- Up +8% over last year’s Week 3 delivery (vs. 4,829,000)
- FOX NFL SUNDAY’s best start to the season since 2019
SEASON-TO-DATE: 22,422,000 VIEWERS
- FOX’s best start to the season ever
- Up +14% over last season’s season-to-date average (vs. 19,688,000)
FanDuel Sports Network’s “Golic & Golic” Scores Strong Early Ratings Growth
FanDuel Sports Network, owned and operated by Main Street Sports Group, announces that its new flagship weekly program, “Golic & Golic,” is off to a fast start, delivering impressive audience growth and strong engagement across the network’s platforms.
Since its June debut, “Golic & Golic” has increased average viewership across FanDuel Sports Network by nearly 40% compared to the prior time-period average. Airing weekdays from 3:00-5:00 PM ET, the show has quickly established itself as a destination for authentic, credible and passionate sports debate that resonates with fans.
Additional highlights include:
- Golic & Golic Encore: The show’s re-airs, frequently following MLB postgame coverage, deliver a 5.2x higher audience than the daytime window.
- Younger Audiences: In over half of the network’s 15 regions, viewership for M18-49 from June-Sept has more than doubled.
- Local Market Strength: Show performance has been particularly strong in key markets including Atlanta, Detroit, Milwaukee, and St. Louis.
- Streaming Engagement: With over 1.5 million minutes streamed to date, unique streamers and total minutes streamed since launch has increased double digits each month.
“Mike Sr. and Mike Jr. bring timely, relevant and passionate perspectives on the biggest sports stories, and that connection with fans is fueling the show’s early success,” says Norby Williamson, President of Programming, Main Street Sports Group. “‘Golic & Golic’ is quickly becoming a tentpole for the network, delivering value across multiple dayparts and strengthening our connection with fans nationwide. The momentum we’re seeing is energizing, and it’s opening the door for us to think even bigger about what comes next.”
Notable guests to date have included Gary Bettman, Jac Caglianone, John Calipari, Bob Costas, Marcus Freeman, Rob Manfred, Baker Mayfield, Brent Musburger, Cheryl Reeve, Greg Sankey, Adam Silver, Nick Sirianni, Kyle Stowers, and more, further cementing “Golic & Golic” as a must-watch.
TNF on Prime’s Dolphins-Bills Clash Draws 16.45M; Up +23% YoY
TNF on Prime’s drive toward a third consecutive season of double-digit viewership growth passed another mile marker, as Thursday’s AFC East clash between the Dolphins and Bills in Orchard Park attracted 16.45 million viewers. The delivery marked an increase of +23% vs. last year’s comparable TNF game, as well as a +10% jump over last season’s Bills-Dolphins TNF season opener. Thursday’s game also stands as the 3rd most-watched TNF on Prime game ever, and marks the first time it has averaged more than 16M viewers in consecutive weeks.
TNF on Prime’s postgame show, TNF Nightcap, continues to climb, posting its highest average audience ever on Thursday with 3.32M viewers. This marks a +19% increase overTNF Nightcap’s previous all-time high of 2.79M, which was set just last week.
Through two games, TNF on Prime continues to attract more younger viewers than any other NFL package, carrying the highest season-to-date averages in both the P18-34 and P18-49 demographics. At the same time, the franchise is welcoming impressive increases among viewers in the P55+ demo, with a +22% rise over last year’s season average.
Below find additional viewership highlights from Dolphins-Bills and the 2025 TNF on Prime season. Please note that all current figures are from Nielsen’s Big Data + Panel measurement. Per Nielsen policy, 2025 Big Data + Panel figures are to be compared with Panel Only measurement figures from previous years.
- TNF averaged 16.45M viewers on Thursday, up +23% vs. last year’s presentation of Patriots-Jets (13.37M, 9/19/24), and +10% over TNF on Prime’s Bills-Dolphins 2024 season opener (14.96M, 9/12/2024).
- Bills-Dolphins attracted a peak audience with 18.33 million viewers between 9:15 and 9:29 PM ET.
- Thursday’s game marked the 3rd most-watched TNF on Prime game ever, and the first time it has averaged more than 16M viewers in consecutive weeks.
- Through two games, TNF on Prime is averaging 17.13M viewers, up +21% vs. last year’s season-to-date average (14.17M) and +30% over the 2024 full-season average (13.20M).
- TNF on Prime is attracting the largest audiences within key younger demos (P18-34 and P18-49) across all NFL full-season packages.
- In the P18-34 demo, TNF is averaging 3.64M viewers, which is highest among all NFL full-season packages, and up +39% vs. TNF’s 2024 P18-34 season average (2.61).
- In the P18-49 demo, TNF is averaging 8.32M viewers, which is highest among all NFL full-season packages, and up +39% vs. TNF’s 2024 P18-49 season average (5.99).
- TNF on Prime is also growing among older demos, with P55+ viewership averaging 6.25M viewers, up +22% vs. the 2024 (5.12M) and +37% vs. the 2023 (4.55M) P55+ season averages.
- Season to date, TNF on Prime’s median age is 47.4, which is more than seven years younger than audiences watching the NFL on linear networks (55.0).
- TNF on Prime’s postgame show, TNF Nightcap, posted its highest average audience ever on Thursday with 3.32M viewers. Thursday’s delivery eclipsed TNF Nightcap’s previous all-time high of 2.79M, which was set just last week after TNF’s Commanders-Packers season opener. Season-to-date, the show is averaging 3.04M, which is an increase of +49% over last year’s full-season average (2.04M), and +64% over the 2023 full-season average (1.85M).
- TNF Tonight, TNF on Prime’s pregame show that kicks off each week at 7:00PM ET, is averaging 2.11M viewers, which is an increase of +38% over last year’s full-season average (1.53M), and +51% over the 2023 full-season average of (1.39M).
