NFL Playoffs: Ad Revenue Up 5%, Viewership Increases by 10%

The NFL Playoffs are off to an exciting start this season, with viewership numbers on the rise. The wild card and Divisional rounds both saw increases in average viewers compared to last year.

During the wild-card round, viewership for the six games was up by 10%, reaching an average of 31.7 million viewers. The following weekend’s Divisional round saw a slight increase of 0.1%, with 37.4 million viewers tuning in, according to Nielsen.

This season marks the first time Nielsen has implemented its new “Big Data + Panel” measure, which has contributed to higher viewership across various programming. Records have been shattered in the first 10 playoff games, especially during the wild card contests.

Amazon Prime Video saw a significant increase in viewership for the Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears wild card game, with 31.6 million viewers tuning in, a 43% increase from the previous year. Fox Television Network also saw record-breaking numbers with 41.0 million viewers watching the San Francisco 49ers defeat the Philadelphia Eagles.

CBS set a new record with its wild-card game between Buffalo and Jacksonville, pulling in 32.7 million viewers, a 5% increase from the previous year. NBC/Peacock’s broadcast of the Los Angeles Chargers vs. New England Patriots game also saw a 3% increase in viewership.

Overall, national TV advertising revenues for the first two weekends of NFL playoff games have increased by 5% to $626.3 million, according to EDO Ad EnGage estimates. Fox led the pack with $166.4 million, followed by NBC with $153.3 million and CBS with $146.1 million in advertising revenue.

Football fans have a lot to look forward to as the NFL Playoffs continue to deliver exciting matchups and record-breaking viewership numbers.