Overview
- NFL Network averaged 6.2 million viewers across six 9:30 a.m. ET international games, up 32% year over year and the channel’s best international slate to date.
- Game-by-game figures included 7.9 million for Vikings–Steelers in Dublin and 6.4 million for Vikings–Browns in London, with other matchups ranging from 5.26 million to 6.0 million.
- Week 1’s Chargers–Chiefs matchup in Brazil drew 16.1 million viewers in the U.S. on YouTube and 17.2 million globally on the platform, which was not counted in NFL Network’s average.
- The league is evaluating up to two additional overseas games next season, with long-term ambitions of a 16-game international slate that could be sold as a separate rights package valued around $1 billion annually.
- ESPN’s planned 2026 acquisition of NFL Network remains subject to approval, a shift that could affect where international inventory airs and how ESPN’s 21-game guarantee is fulfilled, including the status of recent Monday night doubleheaders.