Football season isn’t just for fans; it’s a huge opportunity to score big wins for your business. From increased foot traffic to higher sales to impressive viewership numbers, now is the time to turn your sports bar or restaurant into the go-to game day destination. And DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS® has the stats to prove it. The post Dive Into The NFL Viewership Stats To Get Your Business Game-Day Ready appeared first on DIRECTV Insider.
Football season isn’t just for fans; it’s a huge opportunity to score big wins for your business. From increased foot traffic to higher sales to impressive viewership numbers, now is the time to turn your sports bar or restaurant into the go-to game day destination. And DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS® has the stats to prove it.
Take a look at our 2025 Deep Dive to get an inside look at the most-watched games, when fans are watching, audience trends and how to level up your marketing to position your business as the ultimate football headquarters.
Ready to get in the game with DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS? Check out our sports packages today!
NFL By The Numbers
The NFL continues to top TV ratings. Take a look at some of the stand-out viewership numbers from 2024:
- The NFL averaged 17.5 million viewers per game, down from 17.9 million in 20231. Despite this decline, football continues to dominate traditional TV.
- Thursday Night Football averaged 13.2 million viewers1 in 2024—a 11% jump from the prior year. Prime Video’s first-ever Wild Card game reached 22.1 million viewers2.
- CBS averaged 19.2 million viewers per game and had the most-watched NFL broadcast between the Chiefs and the Bills with 31.1 million viewers1.
- FOX averaged 18.44 million viewers in 2024 and accounted for five of the season’s most-watched NFL broadcasts1.
- NBC’s Sunday Night Football averaged 21.6 million viewers, its best performance since 20151.
- Monday Night Football averaged 15 million viewers across 22 games1.
Know When Fans Are Watching
Knowing when fans are watching can help you plan for large crowds, create food and drink specials and let your customers know they can watch these games at your business. Here are some of the most-watched games of 2024.
- Thanksgiving: Fans are continuing to gobble up Thanksgiving Day football action. 141 million fans tuned in, setting records across three games, with Viewership up +6% from 20233.
- Christmas Day: NFL fans got the gift of two action-packed games, which averaged 26.5 million viewers in the U.S4.
- Wild Card Weekend: Wild Card Weekend averaged 28.3 million viewers5.
- The Big Game: Despite the blowout game, 127.7 million people tuned in to watch Philadelphia’s win over Kansas City, with the audience peaking at 137.7 million6.
The NFL is Scoring with Gen Z
Looking to bring in more business from Gen Z? Football is the way to do it.
Most sports are struggling to attract Gen Z fans. According to a 2021 study, only 23% of Gen Z described themselves as “passionate sports fans, “with 27% saying they were “anti-sports.” However, when it comes to football, the NFL holds the top spot among all professional sports leagues with 69% fan support7.
Sports Bars & Restaurants Are Choosing DIRECTV
DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS offers sports bars and restaurants winning sports packages with NFL Sunday Ticket. But don’t just take our word for it. 92% of restaurants and bars that subscribe to DIRECTV and NFL Sunday Ticket rated it good, very good or excellent for the ability to provide a more enjoyable experience for their customers8. Additionally, 88% of restaurants and bars that subscribe to NFL SUNDAY TICKET agree that it has been a good decision for their business9.
NFL Sunday Ticket gives your business access to up to 200 live out-of-market games across 18 weeks, so your customers can watch their favorite team no matter where they are. And with our Custom Game Mix, your customers can watch four or eight games simultaneously on one screen. In addition, DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS also offers NFL RedZone, NFL Network and Thursday Night Football, so your customers will never miss a game.
Explore our sports packages now.
Become the Ultimate Football Headquarters with DIRECTV MVP
DIRECTV MVP is here to help market your business as the ultimate football headquarters. We offer easy-to-use marketing solutions and tools to help you pack the house on game day.
Bar & Restaurant Marketing Materials
Customers who subscribe to NFL Sunday Ticket receive 275 MVP credits. These credits can be used to order branded merchandise for your sports bar or restaurant on DIRECTVMVP.com. You can also use our NFL Sunday Ticket web and social banners to promote your business.
Weekly Sports Schedule
DIRECTV MVP makes it easy to find all the NFL games and channels with premium sports schedules. This allows you and your employees to stay ahead of the latest sports programming, up to seven days in advance. The schedules can be customized to your local channels using your zip code.
DIRECTV’s Sports Bar Finder
Sports Bar Finder is an easy way to help grow your customer fan base. Customers can search their location for bars and restaurants showing the games they want to see, team affiliations, watch parties and more. DIRECTV customers receive an automatic listing for bars with an ESPN or premium sports package. Plus, it also includes Yelp ratings, customer reviews and photos to help fans find your business.
Learn more about how to step up your business game with DIRECTV MVP.
Provide a Win For Your Business with DIRECTV
Gear up for football season with a touchdown-worthy sports package from DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS. From NFL Sunday Ticket to ESPN+ for BUSINESS, we can help you find the right football package for your business at an affordable price. And with 99% worry-free signal reliability, you’ll never have to worry about your customers missing a second of the action. DIRECTV FOR BUSINESS also gives businesses hassle-free customer service and complimentary standard professional installation. Call 888.726.5184 to get started today!
Sources:
- https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2025/1/nfl-regular-season-audience-slips-2-2-as-3-packages-lose-viewers-87058254
- https://www.sportspro.com/news/nfl-amazon-prime-video-playoff-ravens-steelers-viewership-streaming-january-2025/style="display: none;">
- https://www.nfl.com/news/2024-thanksgiving-day-nfl-games-set-viewership-records
- https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-christmas-day-games-on-netflix-average-over-30-million-global-viewersstyle="display: none;">
- https://www.sportsvideo.org/2025/01/24/ratings-roundup-nfl-divisional-rounds-tackle-highs-across-networks-despite-8-viewership-decrease/style="display: none;">
- https://www.nfl.com/news/super-bowl-lix-averages-record-audience-of-127-7-million-viewersstyle="display: none;">
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/jefffromm/2024/10/11/the-nfl-is-a-powerhouse-brand-attracting-new-gen-z-fans/
- Based on a May 2025 and June 2025 national survey of Bars & Restaurants, NFL SUNDAY TICKET Subscribers who expressed an opinion.
- Based on a January 2025 survey of 185 MVP Order Takes of Thursday Night Football
The post Dive Into The NFL Viewership Stats To Get Your Business Game-Day Ready appeared first on DIRECTV Insider.
