Now that football season has returned, so has the season of tracking the sizes of the TV audiences for football games.
The first of 283 games that count in the 2026 season â a Super Bowl LX rematch between the Patriots and Seahawks â averaged 25.1 million viewers.
The good news is that the season-opening game has exceeded 25 million viewers for four straight years, matching the same run from 2013 through 2016. The bad news is that, via Manny Soloway of Awful Announcing, the number fell 12 percent from last yearâÂÂs 28.3 million who watched the Eagles host the Cowboys, and it was the lowest since 2022.
ItâÂÂs fair to wonder whether the dip had anything to do with the season starting on a Wednesday. The last Wednesday night Week 1 kickoff game happened in 2012, with the Cowboys-Giants game generating 23.9 million viewers. In contrast, the Thursday night opener the prior year, between the Saints and Packers, drew 27.2 million.
ThatâÂÂs odd, to say the least. The Cowboys were (and still are) the Cowboys. And the Giants â in the nationâÂÂs top media market â had just won the Super Bowl. ItâÂÂs lower number than would have been expected, and it could have had something to do with Wednesday vs. Thursday.
Regardless, Week 1 Wednesday is likely here to stay. Especially in the years the NFL canâÂÂt televise a game on the first Friday night of the season.
ItâÂÂll be that way in 2027 and 2028, with a Friday night Week 1 game back on the table for 2029.
By then, itâÂÂll likely be Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday for Week 1.