It’s a question I’ve often received from readers during my time writing sports media stories:

Why should I care about sports viewership?

It’s a fair query. Let’s start off the top that the number of people viewing your favorite sport does not (nor should) impact your enjoyment of it. Sports viewership is merely one metric of a sport’s popularity, but it’s an important one given the economics of a $30 billion sports media rights business. Where your favorite sports are broadcast, how those sports are presented as far as investment in production resources, and the overall financial health of a sport are all affected by viewership data.

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The NFL, as most sports fans know, is far and away the most popular sport in the United States, and TV and digital viewership is the biggest reason the league can make that claim. This year, it feels as if every week the NFL and its media partners are boldly announcing via social media that they have achieved new highs in viewership. A small sampling:

• Per the NFL: Games are averaging 18.58 million viewers (TV + Digital) in 2025, the highest average through Week 5 since 2010 and second highest on record. NFL games are up 8 percent versus last year and up 9 percent over 2023.

• ESPN’s Week 5 matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars averaged 22.3 million viewers, the most-watched Week 5 game of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” era (since 2006) and up 40 per