Preseason National Football League games dominated the list of most watched live sports events during the last full week of August.
Three games from the final week of the NFL preseason landed among the top 10 most-viewed events during the week of August 21-27, including Fox’s August 27 Houston Texans-New Orleans Saints game, which averaged 4.22 million to lead all sports events, according to Nielsen numbers published by SportsMedia Watch. CBS’s August 25 Detroit Lions- Carolina Panthers telecast finished third with 3.43 million viewers, and ESPN’s August 21 Baltimore Ravens-Washington Commanders game pulled in 2.87 million viewers to place seventh.
NBC’s Navy-Notre Dame college football telecast from Dublin, Ireland, drew 3.56 million viewers to finish second for the week. NBC’s NASCAR Cup Series race from Daytona drew the fourth and fifth spots on the chart.
ABC’s August 27 coverage of the Little League Baseball World Series Championship game drew 2.94 million viewers to finish fifth for the week. The game, won by El Segundo, California, over Curacao, was the most-watched on ESPN platforms since 2015. Overall, ESPN’s 38-game slate averaged more than 1 million viewers, up 22 percent from last year, according to ESPN.
| Date | Event | Network | Viewers |
| August 27 | NFL Preseason (Texans-Saints) | Fox | 4.22 million |
| August 26 | College Football (Navy-Notre Dame) | NBC | 3.56 million |
| August 25 | NFL Preseason (Lions-Panthers) | CBS | 3.43 million |
| August 26 | NASCAR Cup Series Race | NBC | 3.26 million |
| August 26 | NASCAR Cup Series Race (preshow) | NBC | 2.97 million |
| August 27 | Little League World Series (final) | ABC | 2.94 million |
| August 21 | NFL Preseason (Ravens-Commanders) | ESPN | 2.87 million |
| August 27 | U.S. Gymnastics Championships | NBC | 2.66 million |
| August 26 | Little League World Series (semifinals) | ABC | 2.52 million |
| August 27 | PGA Tour Championship | CBS | 2.33 million |
