Latest News
Apple's 'F1' Wins Best Sound at 98th Academy Awards
YouTube Is the World's Largest Media Company But The People Who Built It Aren't Celebrating.
The Sports Streaming Industry Just Told You Who Wins. It's Not Who You Think.
Social Appointment Viewing: How 87,000 TikToks Turned Into 18.4 Billion Streaming Minutes
Peacock Goes Vertical. Converting 20% of Viewers (and they're not alone).
Nielsen Delayed The Gauge. Here's What Media Buyers Should Do Before March 24.
StreamScoop Sunday Rundown: Legacy IP Still Runs the Scoreboard
How Amy Scheer Turned A Career in Sports Into the Fastest League Launch in Decades
Flipping the Scripp: How the PWHL Went From 56 Million Homes to 126 Million in Four Months
Disney+ Verts Just Signaled Where Streaming Ad Dollars Are Going Next (Hint: 'Vert' is short for Vertical)
Apple's 'F1' Wins Best Sound at 98th Academy Awards
YouTube Is the World's Largest Media Company But The People Who Built It Aren't Celebrating.
The Sports Streaming Industry Just Told You Who Wins. It's Not Who You Think.
Social Appointment Viewing: How 87,000 TikToks Turned Into 18.4 Billion Streaming Minutes
Peacock Goes Vertical. Converting 20% of Viewers (and they're not alone).
Nielsen Delayed The Gauge. Here's What Media Buyers Should Do Before March 24.
StreamScoop Sunday Rundown: Legacy IP Still Runs the Scoreboard
How Amy Scheer Turned A Career in Sports Into the Fastest League Launch in Decades
Flipping the Scripp: How the PWHL Went From 56 Million Homes to 126 Million in Four Months
Disney+ Verts Just Signaled Where Streaming Ad Dollars Are Going Next (Hint: 'Vert' is short for Vertical)
Measurement

NFL's Ratings Armor Dented by Five-Year Viewership Low

By SOS. News Desk | Jan 29, 2026

The NFL's conference championship weekend viewership fell to a five-year low, a surprising dip for the ratings powerhouse attributed to a lack of star power and new measurement rules that make the decline look even more significant.

  • A Sunday slump: The AFC Championship on CBS drew nearly 49 million viewers, while the NFC title game on Fox attracted 46 million. While both networks touted gains against last year’s comparable time slots, the games were down 15% and 20% respectively from 2025's higher-profile main event broadcasts.

  • A starless Sunday: The weekend's matchups were notably missing the league's biggest quarterback draws. For the first time since 2011, neither Tom Brady nor Patrick Mahomes made an appearance on championship weekend, leaving a slate of less-established names to carry the broadcasts.

  • A dip, not a dive: Despite the lackluster weekend, the NFL’s overall viewership trend remains strong. The full postseason audience is still up 5% year-over-year, and CBS reported its most-watched NFL season on record.

The dip shows even the NFL isn't entirely immune to factors like star power, but its 'down' numbers still represent a massive audience that any other property would celebrate. Meanwhile, the ratings discussion comes amid a longer-running feud between the NFL and Nielsen over measurement, as some analysts are exploring whether major winter storms now suppress viewership in the out-of-home era, and the championship dip followed a particularly strong Divisional Round for the league.

Credit: Outlever

Key Takeaways

  • The NFL's conference championship weekend viewership falls to a five-year low, with games on CBS and Fox attracting nearly 49 million and 46 million viewers respectively.
  • The ratings decline is attributed to a lack of star power, as neither Tom Brady nor Patrick Mahomes appeared on championship weekend for the first time since 2011.
  • Despite the dip for the championship games, the NFL's overall postseason viewership is still up 5% year-over-year, and CBS reported its most-watched NFL season.