NFL Viewership Down, Overall Sports Ratings Up Amid Coronavirus Pandemic

The NFL saw ratings for its annual Kickoff Game fall Thursday night, though viewership for sports overall was up compared to 2019.

NBC’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans drew 16.4 million viewers between 8-11 p.m. ET, marking a 16.1% drop from last year’s season opener, Deadline reports. The contest drew a 5.2 rating for adults in the 18-49 age demographic.

The 2019 kick-off game featured the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears, two longtime division rivals.

Many factors likely played into the decrease in viewership, including the level of competition football faced Thursday. Also, for the first time in history, the NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, MLS and WNBA all had games on the same day.

The Los Angeles Lakers were playing the Houston Rockets in a pivotal Game 4 of their second-round playoff series as the Chiefs and Texans took the field. The Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars faced off in the Western Conference Finals simultaneously.

The combination of those two playoff games, the U.S. Open and Thursday’s NFL game outrated the 2019 NFL opener and the 2019 U.S. Open, according to Mike Mulvihill, Fox Sports Executive Vice President, Research, League Operations & Strategy.

The lack of competitiveness in Thursday’s NFL game may not have helped ratings. Kansas City was beating Houston by two scores at halftime, and the Chiefs led by three scores for much of the second half in a 34-20 victory.

Green Bay defeated Chicago 10-3 in last year’s opener. The contest was a one-score game for all 60 minutes, and the game was up for grabs until the Bears were stopped in the red zone at the two-minute warning.

Much has been made about whether the involvement of sports leagues in social justice issues has hurt television ratings. The Texans demonstrated during the national anthem by staying in the locker room while the song played.