Ratings Roundup: NHL Doubleheader on ESPN Up 29% Over Last Year; TNF on Prime Secure 19% Viewership Increase

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, WNBA regular and post-season sets record for most-watched regular season and post-season across networks; FOX Sports delivers the most watched ALDS game since 2014; and more.

ESPN’s NHL Doubleheader Up 29% vs. the Comparable Window Last Year

The 2025-26 NHL season on ESPN continued Tuesday with the Tampa Bay Lightning-Washington Capitals and Minnesota Wild-Dallas Stars (ESPN). The doubleheader averaged 480K viewers, up 29% vs. the comparable window last year (peak: 698K).

Tampa-Washington averaged 553K viewers, up 33% vs. the comparable game last year (Minnesota-St. Louis). The Minnesota-Dallas matchup delivered 398K viewers, up 19% vs. the comparable game last year (Philadelphia-Edmonton).

Through five games, the NHL on ESPN is averaging 656K viewers, up 35% vs. the comparable point last season.

ESPN’s Monumental 2025 WNBA Season Sets New Viewership Records Most-Watched WNBA Regular and Postseason Ever Across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2

ESPN networks delivered the most-watched WNBA Regular Season and Postseason (Playoffs and Finals) ever across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2, based on Nielsen Big Data + Panel.

Across 25 regular season games, WNBA on ESPN networks averaged 1.3M viewers, up 6% year-over-year, which marked the most-watched WNBA regular season on its networks.

Across 24 postseason games, the 2025 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% year-over-year and marking the most-watched WNBA Postseason on ESPN networks to date. Across all networks, the 2025 WNBA Postseason was the most-viewed since 1999 (1.3 million viewers).

2025 WNBA Finals Presented By YouTube TV Was Second Most-Watched Ever on ESPN Networks

The 2025 WNBA Finals Presented by YouTube TV on ABC and ESPN averaged 1.5 million viewers across four games, ranking as the second most-watched WNBA Finals ever on ESPN networks, behind only ‘24. The series opened with a historic performance, as Game 1 between the Phoenix Mercury and Las Vegas Aces averaged 1.9 million viewers, marking the most-watched WNBA Finals Game 1 in 28 years.

Most-Watched Full Season Ever Across ESPN Networks

After 49 total telecasts, the 2025 WNBA Full Season across ESPN networks averaged 1.2 million viewers, up 5% year-over-year, marking the most-viewed full season ever on ESPN networks.

Studio Shows Generate Significant Growth This Postseason

ESPN’s WNBA Countdown Presented by Google averaged 437,000 viewers, up 30% year-over-year, across 13 episodes.

ESPN’s Hoop Streams presented by Google and The Wrap-Up presented by AT&T saw significant postseason growth on YouTube, combining for 900,000 total views (+60% YoY) and 135,000 total watch hours (+110% YoY) across eight episodes from September 12 to October 12. Video-on-demand content also surged, adding 2 million views, a 28% increase year-over-year.

NASCAR The Cup Series Race on USA Network Averaged 1.7 Million Viewers

• NASCAR Cup Series: Sunday’s race on USA Network earned a 0.84 household rating and an average of 1.7 million viewers tuned in per minute, becoming the most-watched NASCAR race since Darlington in late August on USA Network (1.9 million)
  • No direct YOY comparison. Last year this event aired on NBC
  • NASCAR ranked as the #2 sport of the day on cable television behind only the NFL’s London Game featuring Denver/New York Jets)
  • Denny Hamlin won his sixth race of the season and became the 11^th driver to reach 60 career wins in NASCAR Cup Series history. Hamlin also secured his spot in this seasons Championship 4
  • At peak, 2.1 million viewers were tuned in at the conclusion of the race
• NASCAR Xfinity Series: Saturday night’s race earned a 0.42 household rating on The CW, with an average of 745,000 viewers tuned in per minute, down -1% YOY
  • The race ranked as the #1 program of the week on The CW for the 28^th time in 30 NXS races this season
  • Viewership was up more than 3X over the NCAAF game that led into Xfinity Countdown (Wake Forest/Oregon State, 234,000)
  • The race aired opposite prime time NCAAF games across multiple networks, and MLB Division Series Game 5 between Chicago/Milwaukee
    • NCAAF: Georgia/Auburn on ABC, 6.3 million (+48% over same window last year, Mississippi/LSU, 4.2 million)
    • MLB: Division Series Game 5 (CHC/MIL) on TBS/TruTV, 5.3 million (no YOY comparison)
    • NCAAF: Michigan/USC on NBC, 3.9 million (-60% YOY, Ohio State/Oregon, 9.6 million)
    • NCAAF: Florida/Texas A&M on ESPN, 2.6 million (-19% YOY, Florida/Tennessee, 3.2 million)
    • NCAAF: Kansas/Texas Tech on FOX, 1.5 million (+26% YOY, Iowa State/West Virginia, 1.2 million)
  • Note: This same week last year was Charlotte ROVAL which aired in a late afternoon window (4:12PM-6:56PM)  
  • At peak, 876,000 viewers were tuned in
• IMSA (Road Atlanta): Saturday’s race on NBC earned a 0.26 household rating with 440,000 average viewers per minute, down -1% YOY (446,000)
  • At peak, 556,000 viewers were tuned in
  • Nielsen’s Big Data Plus Panel data will be available on Wednesday and is subject to revised viewership from these Preliminary viewership numbers
• NFL Football: Viewership for NFL telecast windows on FOX and CBS averaged a 9.12 household rating and 19.6 million viewers per minute, up +14% YOY
  • NBC’s Sunday Night Football (Detroit/Kansas City) earned a 11.16 household rating with 23.0 million viewers per minute, up +49% YOY (Cincinnati/New York Giants, 15.4 million)
  • CBS’ late afternoon national window ranked as the most-watched sports telecast of the week, earning a 11.91 household rating and 27.1 million viewers, up +12% vs. the comparable late afternoon national window during Week 6 last year on FOX (24.1 million)
    • This year the afternoon national window on CBS primarily featured Tampa Bay/San Francisco. Last year, FOX late afternoon window primarily featured Detroit/Dallas
• NCAA Football: Saturday afternoon’s game on ABC featuring Oklahoma/Texas was the most-watched NCAAF game of the week earning a 3.81 household rating and 8.6 million viewers per minute, up +13% over the same matchup in the same timeslot this week last year (7.6 million)
• Major League Baseball: FOX’s Friday night coverage of the American League Divisional Series Game 5 (Seattle/Detroit) was the most-watched MLB game this week earning a 3.92 household rating and 8.42 million viewers, up +15% over 2024 NLDS Game 5 which also aired on FOX Friday night (San Diego/L.A. Dodgers, 7.3 million). The game concluded after 15 innings with Seattle winning in walk-off fashion
  • Sunday night’s Game 1 of the AL Championship Series on FOX featuring Seattle/Toronto earned a 2.43 household rating with 4.9 million viewers per minute, down -40% versus NL Championship Series Game 1 on FOX this same week last year (NY Mets/L.A. Dodgers, 8.3 million)
  • While both the Wild Card and Divisional Series were up YOY, this year’s Championship Series matchups (Seattle/Toronto and L.A. Dodgers/Milwaukee) are less favorable than last year’s Championship Series matchups (NY Yankees/Cleveland and NY Mets/L.A. Dodgers). As of today, Seattle leads Toronto 2-0, where L.A. Dodgers are up 1-0 over Milwaukee
  • Complete postseason analysis is ongoing, with Game 1 of the World Series scheduled for Friday, October 24^th
• Weekend Motorsports, ranked by audience size:
  • NHRA (Texas): 1.872 million viewers on FOX (NFL post-game as lead-in, 7.2 million)
  • NCS (Las Vegas): 1.717 million viewers on USA Network
  • NXS (Las Vegas): 745,000 on The CW
  • IMSA (Road Atlanta): 440,000 on NBC 

NASCAR Cup Series South Point 400 – Aired Sunday, October 12^th on USA Network

• U.S. Rating                                                                                                         
  • 2025: 0.84 on USA Network
  • No direct YOY comparison – last year Las Vegas II aired on NBC
• Avg. Viewers (000) (all ages P2+)
  • 2025: 1,717 (1.7 million) on USA Network
  • No direct YOY comparison – last year Las Vegas II aired on NBC

NASCAR Xfinity Series Focused Health 302 – Aired Saturday, October 11^th on The CW

•  U.S. Rating
  • 2025: 0.42 on The CW
  • Down -5% versus 2024 Las Vegas II (0.44)
• Avg. Viewers (all ages P2+)
  • 2025: 745,000 on The CW
  • Down -1% versus 2024 Las Vegas II (756,000)

FOX Sports Delivers Most-Watched ALDS on FOX/FS1 Since Launch of Postseason Baseball on FS1 in 2014

8,723,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services for the Seattle Mariners’ historic 15-inning ALDS Game 5 victory over the Detroit Tigers

On FOX, the game averaged 8,590,000 viewers making it the most-watched LDS game since Detroit eliminated New York in Game 5 of the 2011 LDS (9,723,000) and FOX’s best Friday night since Game 1 of the World Series last year (14,306,000)

4,146,000 viewers tuned in across FOX, FS1 and FS2 for the 2025 ALDS

• Most-watched LDS on FOX/FS1 since the launch of Postseason baseball on FS1 in 2014

• Most-watched LDS on any network since 2015 (Chicago-St. Louis/New York-Los Angeles NLDS)

• Up +37% from last year’s ALDS (3,017,000 for 9 games) and up +65% from the 2023 ALDS (2,510,000 for 7 games)

ALCS Game 1 on FOX and FOX Deportes Draws 5.3 Million Viewers

College GameDay Built by The Home Depot Delivers Most-Watched West Coast Episode Ever; ESPN College Football on ABC Scores Top Three Programs Across All Networks and Content for Saturday, Oct. 11

College GameDay:

• 2.7M viewers from 9a-Noon ET
  • Up 16% over ’24 Wk 7 at Oregon
• 3.4M viewers in the final hour+
  • Beating the competition by 124%
• Full show peak 3.9M viewers
  • Season-to-date, pacing +29% from ’24, including top six reg. season shows ever
• Largest viewership gains amongst women (+42%) and P18-24 (+56%) demos

CFB Matchups:

• ESPN networks off to the best start for CFB since 2009 (2.4M avg. viewers | up 26% YoY)
• ABC boasts best seven-week start on record (6.9M avg. viewers | up 28% YoY)
  • Oklahoma vs. UT Austin
    • 8.7M viewers
    • Peak: 9.3M viewers
    • Largest Red River audience on record (full national window)
    • 6th straight week ABC claims top game
  • Alabama vs. Mizzou
    • 7.0M viewers
    • Peak: 10.7M viewers
    • CFB’s top noon audience since Week 1
  • UGA vs Auburn
    • 6.7M viewers
    • Peak: 8.0M viewers
    • ABC tops primetime for 7 straight weeks

Most-Watched WNBA Postseason Ever on ESPN Networks

• Across 24 games, the ’25 WNBA postseason averaged 1.2M viewers, up 5% YoY
• ’25 WNBA Finals averaged 1.5M viewers, 2nd most-watched on ESPN Nets behind only ’24
• Televised the most-watched WNBA Finals Game 1 in 28 years
  • 1.9M viewers -Phoenix Mercury at Las Vegas Aces
• Across 13 episodes, WNBA Countdown Presented by Google averaged 437K viewers, up 30% YoY

Sunday Night Football Registers Record Fourth Blockbuster Audience of 25+ Million Viewers This Season, as Lions-Chiefs Averages 27.3 Million Viewers on NBC & Peacock

Two seasons after the Detroit Lions defeated the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs by one point in the NFL Kickoff Game, the teams played another tight game into the fourth quarter (Detroit pulled to within three points of Kansas City 46 seconds into the final quarter). The matchup delivered 25+ million viewers for the fourth time on Sunday Night Football in 2025, the most audiences of 25 million viewers through Week 6 in NBC SNF history and matching the entire 2024 season.

Lions-Chiefs averaged 27.3 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, based on official Nielsen Big Data + Panel and digital data from Adobe Analytics, marking the second-most watched October audience in the history of NBC SNF, joining two memorable “return” games in the month’s top three.

Most-Watched October Games, NBC SNF History

*Total Audience Delivery

Additional metrics and milestones:

• The audience for Lions-Chiefs peaked at 30.6 million viewers in the second quarter (9-9:15-9:30 p.m. ET), as the teams exchanged the lead.
• Through Week 6 (seven games), SNF is averaging 25.2 million viewers across NBC and Peacock – marking the best six-week start in the 20-season history of NBC’s Sunday Night Football, and up 11% from 2024.
• SNF is off to its best six-week streaming start ever with an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 3.0 million viewers across Peacock, NBC Sports Digital platforms, and NFL Digital platforms – up 10% from last season, based on data from Adobe Analytics.

“NFL ON CBS” Delivers the Most-Watched Program of the Week on Any Network with its Best Week 6 Game Since 2007

• Led by 49ers-Buccaneers at 4:25PM ET, CBS Sports scored its best Week 6 Game since 2007 (5-0 Patriots vs 5-0 Cowboys) with 26.824 million viewers, up +32% vs last year’s comparable window
• Sunday’s national game window is the most-watched program of the week on any network
• CBS Sports has its best viewership through Week 6 since 2015 with 18.751 million viewers

TNF on Prime Delivers 15.62M for Eagles-Giants; Fifth Best Ever and Up +19% YoY

Thursday Night Football continues to deliver the unexpected, as the Giants’ 34-17 upset victory over the Super Bowl Champion Eagles averaged 15.62 million viewers on Prime Video, registering an impressive +19% increase over last year’s comparable game, despite a divided evening for Philadelphia sports fans with direct competition from a Phillies-Dodgers MLB playoff finale that stretched into extra innings.

Thursday’s compelling NFC East clash marks the fifth most-watched TNF on Prime game ever. Overall, TNF is averaging 15.70M viewers in 2025, which is +12% higher than last year’s average at this point in the season, and the highest viewership for TNF on any network since 2015.

Eagles-Giants averaged 15.62M viewers, which is the fifth most-watched TNF on Prime game ever, and +19% over last season’s comparable game (13.18M, 49ers-Seahawks, 10/10/2024).

Thursday’s game attracted a peak audience of 18.02 million viewers between 10:00 and 10:14 PM ET. Through five games, Eagles-Giants is the third TNF on Prime event this year to average more than 15M, a mark reached only twice all of last season. Eagles-Giants on Prime averaged 10 million more viewers than the Phillies-Dodgers MLB playoff game on Thursday (vs. 5.57M).

Season-to-date, TNF is averaging 15.70M viewers, continuing its best season on Prime, and highest for TNF on any network in a decade.

The five-week average is up +12% vs. last year’s season-to-date average (13.98M), +19% over the 2024 full-season average (13.20M), +32% over the 2023 full-season average (11.86M), and +64% over the 2022 full-season average (9.58M).

Through five games, TNF on Prime is delivering double-digit gains across every major demographic:

• Within the P18-34 demo, TNF is averaging 3.19M viewers, up +22% vs.last year’s full-season average (2.61M).
  • TNF on Prime currently holds the highest P18-34 season-to-date average among all NFL full-season packages.
• Within the P18-49 demo, TNF is averaging 7.45M viewers, up +24% vs. last year’s full-season average (5.99M).
• Within the P25-54 demo, TNF is averaging 8.05M viewers, up +22% vs. last year’s full-season average (6.58M).
• Within the P55+ demo, TNF is averaging 5.75M viewers, up +12% vs. last year’s full-season average (5.12M).

Season-to-date, TNF on Prime’s median age is 47.7, which is nearly eight years younger than audiences watching the NFL on linear networks (55.3).

TNF on Prime’s postgame show, TNF Nightcap, averaged 2.91M viewers on Thursday, marking its second most-watched episode ever.

This year, Nightcap is averaging 2.88M, up +41% over last year’s full-season average (2.04M), and +56% 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, averaged 1.58M viewers on Thursday, and is averaging 1.75M season-to-date.

This year, TNF Tonight is up +14% over last year’s full-season average (1.53M), and 25% over the 2023 full-season average (1.39M).

3,287,000 Viewers Tuned In on Average Through Game 4 of the ALDS Across FOX, FS1 and FS2

3,287,000 viewers tuned in on average through Game 4 of the ALDS across FOX, FS1 & FS2

Up +11% from last year’s ALDS through Game 4 (2,957,000 viewers for 8 games)

Up +31% over the ALDS through Game 4 in 2023 (2,510,000 viewers for 7 games)

TOR VS NYY GAME 4

• 4,898,000 viewers across FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services

SEA VS DET GAME 4

• 2,564,000 viewers across FS1, FOX Deportes and FOX Sports streaming services