NFL programming dominated television viewing during the week of September 21 through September 27, accounting for most of Nielsen’s highest-rated programs across broadcast and cable television, according to the latest data provided by Nielsen.
CBS’s national NFL window was the most-watched program of the week, averaging 24.9 million viewers and a 7.73 rating among people age 2 and older.
NBC’s “Sunday Night Football,” featuring the Los Angeles Rams at the Denver Broncos, ranked second with 20.8 million viewers. NBC’s “Football Night in America” averaged 12.7 million viewers, while ABC’s “Monday Night Football” telecast of the New York Giants at the Los Angeles Rams drew 11.1 million.
Fox’s single-game NFL window followed with 17.9 million viewers, while CBS’s regional coverage drew 17.7 million.
College football also generated two of broadcast television’s largest audiences: ABC’s Texas-Tennessee game averaged 9.7 million viewers, while Mississippi-Florida drew 8.3 million.
ABC’s “World News Tonight” was the highest-ranked non-sports program with 8.4 million viewers. CBS’s “2026 MTV Video Music Awards” rounded out the broadcast top 10 with nearly 8.2 million.
On cable, ESPN’s telecast of Giants-Rams led the week with 7.6 million viewers, compared with 11.1 million for the ABC simulcast. ESPN’s “Monday Night Kickoff” followed with nearly 4 million.
ESPN also placed South Carolina-Alabama, “College GameDay” and Oklahoma-Georgia among cable’s top 10, giving football six of the 10 highest-ranked cable programs.
Fox News Channel accounted for the other four positions with separate editions of “The Five.” The program’s September 22 episode led the group with nearly 3 million viewers.
Broadcast maintained a significant audience advantage during the week. Eleven of the 12 most-watched programs across broadcast and cable aired on broadcast networks, with ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” the only cable telecast to make the combined top 12.
Below are the rankers for Nielsen’s most-recent measurement week, starting September 21, 2026:
Top-Rated Broadcast TV Programs (P2+)
NFL on CBS (4:25p ET games)
24.9 million
7.73
Sunday Night Football (LAR/DEN)
20.77 million
6.45
NFL on Fox (1:05p ET games)
17.9 million
5.56
NFL on CBS (1:05p ET games)
17.71 million
5.5
Football Night in America (part 3)
12.66 million
3.93
Monday Night Football (NYG/LAR)
11.14 million
3.46
College Football (TX/TN)
9.75 million
3.03
World News Tonight (Mon-Thurs)
8.39 million
2.6
College Football (Miss/FL)
8.29 million
2.57
MTV Video Music Awards
8.18 million
2.54Top-Rated Cable TV Programs (P2+)
Monday Night Football (NYG/LAR)
7.59 million
2.36
Monday Night Kickoff
3.95 million
1.23
The Five (9/22)
2.98 million
0.92
College Football (SC/Ala)
2.93 million
0.91
The Five (9/21)
2.86 million
0.89
College GameDay
2.65 million
0.82
College Football (OK/GA)
2.63 million
0.82
The Five (9/23)
2.61 million
0.81
The Five (9/24)
2.6 million
0.79
Monday Night Football (post-game)
2.51 million
0.78