NEW YORK—In the run-up to Super Bowl LX, the VAB has released a new study filled with data bolstering the notion that primetime football is among the most powerful programming on TV, delivering massive viewership, real-time engagement and high-impact audiences across streaming and linear TV.
The study comes at a time when reports indicate the NFL is seeking to renegotiate existing contracts for media rights, which the League believes are undervalued compared to sums paid recently paid for the NBA and other sports.
The new report, What's the Spread? Examining Key Stats on Audience Growth From the 2025 NFL Season notes that as Thursday Night Football on Prime Video, Sunday Night Football on NBC and Monday Night Football across ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC all continued to grow, NFL primetime served as a reliable engine for scale, with divisional rivalries and tightly contested matchups consistently delivering the biggest audience lifts, with strong co-viewing and out-of-home viewership adding significant incremental reach.
"The NFL continues to deliver outsized, real-time impact, with audiences up year-over-year across all three signature primetime series, reinforcing live football as one of Premium Video's strongest drivers of reach and engagement," said Jason Wiese, executive vice president, strategic insights and measurement, VAB. "Divisional rivalries and many tightly contested games were key drivers of higher audience ratings across the three signature primetime series. Out-of-home viewing, which skews towards younger demographics, is also a critical component of audience growth that adds substantial reach for live sporting events, especially during key holiday periods."
The analysis also highlights how Nielsen's Big Data Plus Panel measurement captures NFL total P2+ audience viewership in comparison to the legacy Panel Only measurement that was the currency-of-record in past years.
Key findings include:
- Live NFL games are watched in real-time, reinforcing it as an effective environment that delivers unmatched immediacy and ad impact.
- Divisional matchups increase viewership by double-digits as fans are more likely to flock towards long-standing, established rivalries.
- Primetime NFL games deliver high-value audiences in key buying demos across multiscreen TV platforms.
- Out-of-home viewership contributes double-digit lifts in total audience, especially among the highly elusive P18-34 demographic.
- Broadcast TV telecasts, led by late-Sunday afternoon timeslot, continue to be the most watched NFL games throughout the season.
The report's findings draw from VAB's viewership analysis based on the full 2025 season schedule across the three signature primetime series versus the prior season. The report—which includes in-depth data, key takeaways and cited sources— can be accessed here.
