National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football association based in New York City. The NFL comprises 32 clubs divided among two conferences, which itself is split among eight divisions.
Telecast rights to NFL games are held by the Walt Disney Company (ESPN, ABC), Comcast Corporation (NBC), Paramount Global (CBS), Fox Corporation and Amazon’s Prime Video. National radio broadcasts are offered by Cumulus Radio’s Westwood One.
The NFL also distributes games through its own standalone streaming app called NFL Plus, with out-of-market games aired on CBS and Fox affiliates available through YouTube’s NFL Sunday Ticket package.
Nielsen: TV usage skyrockets in November, YouTube share flat
Americans watched more than 100 billion minutes of TV in November, driven by Thanksgiving NFL games and strong broadcast viewership.
THE GAUGE
Prime Video sets Thursday Night Football record with Lions-Cowboys game
Amazon set a viewership record for its Thursday Night Football telecast between the Detroit Lions and the Dallas Cowboys, which drew nearly 20 million sports fans.
Nielsen: World Series dominates ratings, Monday Night Football viewership falls
Game 7 of the World Series was the most-watched, non-aggregate TV event, attracting nearly 27 million viewers to Fox.
RATINGS
Roku wants to help eliminate streaming sports confusion
As sports moves across different channels and apps, Roku sees an opportunity to help fans find the games they want.
Amazon gets global rights to Black Friday NFL game
The game between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles will stream exclusively on Prime Video.
Nielsen: Football dominates TV during second week of October
The top 10 TV programs on broadcast and cable channels involved professional or college-level football.
RATINGS
Nielsen: Football lifts broadcast TV viewership in September
Broadcast and cable networks — and some streaming platforms — were boosted by the start of regular-season NFL games.
THE GAUGE
iSpot: Football helps lift TV advertising rates during Q3
Football once again proved to be the backbone of television advertising in the third quarter (Q3) of 2025, according to new data from iSpot.
DATA
Fox’s Mark Sanchez arrested after bar fight, stabbing in Indianapolis
Police in Indianapolis have arrested Fox Sports commentator Mark Sanchez following a bar fight in that city early Saturday morning.
Horowitz: Football fans engaging across platforms during live games
Football fans are doing more than watching live games on television — they are interacting at an increasing rate across different platforms that reshape the traditional sports viewing experience.
Viewpoint: Should Nielsen still have influence over the TV industry?
Anyone who has worked in television for more than a minute or so learns that there are three sets of numbers that you have to care about: Your paycheck, corporate earnings and ratings.
By:
Kirk Varner
YouTube adjusts NFL game viewer count, raising questions about accuracy
The Google-owned streaming service said it under-counted the viewership of its NFL game in Brazil.