Sunday NFL Countdown and NFL Live Both Grow Their Week 1 AudiencesESPN’s Monday Night Football delivered more than 22.1 million viewers (ESPN, ABC, ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, NFL+) for the 2025 season opener (September 8,8:15 p.m. ET), MNF’s second most-watched Week 1 game in the ESPN era (2006 – present). The Vikings-Bears audience was up 8% from the 2024 season opener (Jets-49ers), further adding to the record-setting Joe Buck and Troy Aikman era. The four MNF openers called by the duo (2022 – present) are the four most-watched MNF Week 1 games during the ESPN era (35 games, accounting for multiple seasons of Week 1 doubleheaders).
ESPN’s Studio Show Draw Strong Audiences to Start 2025 Season ESPN’s viewership success to start the season extended into its studio shows, with Monday Night Countdown, Sunday NFL Countdown, and NFL Live all growing their audience year-over-year. Highlights:
Monday Night Countdown Draws Best Week 1 Audience Since 2014
Leading into Vikings at Bears, Monday Night Countdown averaged 1.76 million viewers (6-8 p.m.), the longtime on-site pregame show’s highest Week 1 audience since 2014. Year-over-year, the show increased its audience by 39%.
Sunday NFL Countdown Earns Multi-Year High
Leading into the first Sunday of the season, Sunday NFL Countdown averaged 1.55 million viewers (10 a.m. – 1 p.m.), a Week 1 multi-year high, including an increase of 38% from the 2024 Week 1 edition.
Extended NFL Live from Soldier Field Grows Audience
An extended version of NFL Live generated 550,000 viewers (3-5 p.m.), up 17% from the two-hour edition that kicked off the 2024 season.