NFL games lead broadcast and cable ratings during historic viewership increase

Broadcast television viewership increased by 20 percent in September compared to August, marking the largest monthly rise in the category since Nielsen began tracking with The Gauge in May 2021.

According to Nielsen’s October 2025 release of The Gauge, the time viewers spent watching broadcast television grew significantly, increasing the category’s share of total TV usage by 3.2 points. Broadcast closed the month with a 22.3 percent share of total television usage, surpassing cable for the first time on an unrounded basis.

The increase was primarily attributed to football. Sports programming accounted for 33 percent of broadcast viewing in September, up from 11 percent in August. Fifteen NFL games on CBS, FOX and NBC each drew more viewers than August’s most-watched broadcast, with the highest-performing September telecast more than doubling that figure.

Cable television also saw a viewership increase, driven by both football and news. NFL games ranked among the top five cable telecasts, including four Monday Night Football games on ESPN and the NFL Network’s broadcast of the season’s first international matchup. News programming accounted for more than a quarter of total cable viewing and rose 9 percent over the previous month. Overall cable sports viewing increased by 11 percent.

Nielsen reported that viewers ages 25 to 34 contributed the most to September’s gains. Broadcast viewing among that demographic rose 65 percent, while cable viewing increased 16 percent.

Streaming continued to account for the largest share of TV usage at 45.2 percent, though some platforms experienced declines. Amazon Prime Video reported its most-viewed Thursday Night Football broadcast on record, with the Sept. 11 Commanders-Packers game generating more than 3 billion viewing minutes.

Netflix‘s original series “Wednesday” led all streaming titles with more than 7 billion minutes viewed. The next-highest title, “KPop Demon Hunters,” also on Netflix, had 3.6 billion minutes. Despite these titles’ performance, Netflix’s overall share dropped by 0.4 points to 8.3 percent.

YouTube remained the most-watched streaming platform at 12.6 percent, though it experienced a 2 percent decline, which Nielsen attributed to the back-to-school season impacting viewership among 6- to 17-year-olds.

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The September reporting period covered the weeks from Sept. 1 through Sept. 28, aligning with Nielsen’s broadcast calendar.