NFL, College Football Telecasts Run Up Viewership Numbers: The Week in Sports Ratings

By R. Thomas Umstead
published

Warriors-Kings NBA in-season tournament game tops non-football list

Tight end Jake Ferguson #87 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a catch in the end-zone as safety Jamal Adams #33 of the Seattle Seahawks defends during the 4th quarter of the game at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2023
Tight end Jake Ferguson #87 of the Dallas Cowboys makes a catch in the end-zone as safety Jamal Adams #33 of the Seattle Seahawks defends during the 4th quarter of the game at AT&T Stadium on November 30, 2023 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Viewership numbers for live football games continue to increase as the regular season winds down.

Fox’s December 3 late afternoon NFL window, mostly featuring the Philadelphia Eagles-San Francisco 49’ers game, led all live events for the week of November 27-December 3 with 27.9 million viewers, the fifth-largest audience of the NFL season,  according to Nielsen numbers published by SportsMedia Watch. NBC’s Sunday Night Football telecast featuring the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs finished second for the week, averaging 23.56 million viewers.

CBS' Georgia Bulldogs-Alabama Crimson Tide SEC Championship game generated 17.51 million viewers – the second biggest audience for a college football game this year behind the November 25 Ohio State-Michigan game. Prime Video’s November 30 Thursday Night Football game between the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks drew a record 15.25 million viewers for the streaming service.

TNT’s in-season tournament game between the Golden State Warriors and the Sacramento Kings was the most-watched non-football game this week, averaging 2 million viewers. The game was the most watched of the inaugural tournament, which averaged 1.35 million viewers across ESPN, TNT, and NBA TV, according to SportsMedia Watch.

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Top-Rated Live Sports Events, November 27-December 3
DateEventNetworkViewership
December 3NFL on Fox (late window)Fox 27.69 million
December 3Sunday Night FootballNBC23.56 million
December 2College Football: Georgia-AlabamaCBS17.51 million
November 30Thursday Night FootballPrime Video15.25 million
December 3NFL on CBS (early window)CBS14.37 million
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Top-Rated Live Sports Events (non-football), November 27-December 3
Date EventNetworkViewership
November 28NBA: Warriors-KingsTNT2.00 million
November 29College Basketball: Duke/ArkansasESPN1.39 million
December 1NBA: 76'ers/CelticsESPN1.30 million
November 28NBA: Bucks-HeatTNT1.31 million
November 29College Basketball: Tennessee/North CarolinaESPN1.24 million
R. Thomas Umstead
R. Thomas Umstead

R. Thomas Umstead serves as senior content producer, programming for Multichannel News, Broadcasting + Cable and Next TV. During his more than 30-year career as a print and online journalist, Umstead has written articles on a variety of subjects ranging from TV technology, marketing and sports production to content distribution and development. He has provided expert commentary on television issues and trends for such TV, print, radio and streaming outlets as Fox News, CNBC, the Today show, USA Today, The New York Times and National Public Radio. Umstead has also filmed, produced and edited more than 100 original video interviews, profiles and news reports featuring key cable television executives as well as entertainers and celebrity personalities.