NFL accounted for 93 of 100 most-watched TV broadcasts in 2023

When it comes to the popularity of the NFL, we’re going to need a new synonym for dominant. The league, again, overwhelmed its TV competition. But 2023 also was at a historical level for its command of the airwaves.

The final TV rankings were released this week. Of the top 100, NFL games were in 93 spots. In fact, there were only four non-sports broadcasts that ranked amongst the top 100. The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade came in at No. 23 overall with an audience of 27.35 million. President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address ranked 37th (25.39 million). And the Academy Awards (18.76 million) was 67th. An episode of Next Level Chef, a Fox cooking show, ranked 97th. It had the luxury of occupying the time slot right after the Super Bowl. The show also was the only taped program on the list. The other 99 were live broadcasts.

As we said, the NFL always dominates. But 2023 set the standard. The NFL broke the record with 82 out of 100 shows in 2022. But with writers’ and actors’ strikes wiping out the fall TV network schedule, the league audience grew even larger. Because of the strike, ABC simulcast Monday Night Football games on ESPN.

Super Bowl always rules, while Cowboys dominate regular season

So what NFL games ranked the highest? No. 1 should be obvious. It’s always the Super Bowl. The Chiefs’ dramatic win over the Eagles pulled in 114.3 million. It more than doubled the audience of the No. 2 audience. The AFC title game between the Bengals and Chiefs attracted an audience of 53.12 million. Like the Super Bowl, that NFL playoff game was a nailbiter. The lack of drama probably played a part in the Eagles-49ers, the NFC title game, coming in a No. 3 with 47.5 million.

The Cowboys-Commanders on Thanksgiving ranked fifth, making it the most-watched regular season NFL game. Its audience was 41.76 million.

There were three other sporting events in the top 100. And it’s still all about football. Although the NCAA isn’t on the same level of the NFL, college football proved to be more popular than any other pro sports programming. Ohio State-Michigan ranked 61st with an audience of 19.07 million. The Alabama-Georgia SEC title game was 74th at 17.52 million. And the Georgia-TCU championship game (17.2 million) for the end of the 2022 season was 78th.

We’re coming up on the biggest TV viewing part of the NFL this month and next. The league’s regular season ends this weekend and the playoffs begin Jan. 13.

Top 10 list was all NFL games

1	Fox	2/12	Super Bowl LVII: Chiefs-Eagles	114.3 million
2	CBS	1/29	AFC Championship: Chiefs-Bengals	53.12 million
3	Fox	1/29	NFC Championship: Eagles-49ers	47.5 million
4	Fox	1/22	NFC Divisional: 49ers-Cowboys	45.65 million
5	CBS	11/23	NFL: Commanders-Cowboys (Thanksgiving)	41.76 million
6	CBS	1/22	AFC Divisional: Bengals-Bills	39.32 million
7	NBC	1/21	AFC Divisional: Chiefs-Jaguars	34.3 million
8	Fox	11/23	NFL: Packers-Lions (Thanksgiving)	33.7 million
9	Fox	1/15	NFC Wild Card: Giants-Vikings	33.21 million
10	Fox	12/24	NFL: Cowboys-Dolphins	31.52 million

For the entire list, check with the Sports Business Journal here.