Through 10 weeks of the NFL’s regular season -- TV’s top programming in terms of Nielsen measurement -- viewership is up 5% over the the same period a year ago, maintaining a similar rise in recent weeks.
Looking at all regular-season games on five networks -- Fox, NBC, CBS, ESPN and NFL Network -- the average Nielsen viewership is 15.8 million versus 15 million through 10 regular-season games in 2018.
Strong-performing games in week 10 included Fox’s late Sunday afternoon airing of the Carolina Panthers-Green Bay Packers contest, which came in at a Nielsen-measured 23.2 million viewers and NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” contest between Minnesota and Dallas, which posted 23 million viewers.
Top marketers of national/regional TV spend on NFL games through November 14, according to iSpot.tv, include Geico with 566 airings ($87.7 million), Verizon with 673 airings ($77.7 million), Progressive Insurance, 362 airings ($73.3 million); State Farm, 524 airings, ($56.2 million) and Hyundai with 142 airings ($54.1 million).
Completing the top 10 of NFL TV marketers are Toyota with 143 airings ($53.9 million), AT&T Wireless with 220 airings ($44.0 million), Apple iPhone with 185 airings ($42.1 million), USAA with 214 airings ($41.5 million) and Bud Light with 464 airings ($40.1 million).
On-air promotion for TV networks in football games has seen 2,774 airings for the NFL Network; 1,288 for Fox, 1,134 for CBS; 222 for NBC; and 113 for ESPN.