Sep 17, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs to score a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second half at New Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
Sep 17, 2026; Orchard Park, New York, USA; Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) runs to score a touchdown against the Detroit Lions during the second half at New Highmark Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images
The last of the NFL rightsholders to post a viewership number from the 2026 season is off to a strong start.
Amazon said Monday that it averaged 18.6 million viewers for its Thursday Night Football season opener between the Lions and Bills. The audience represents a 5% lift from last year’s TNF opener, and ranks third among the most-watched NFL regular-season games on Amazon.
Notably, the game also narrowly topped the 18.5 million U.S. viewership average that Netflix had on Sept. 10 for the 49ers-Rams game from Australia one week earlier.
The game at the Bills’ new Highmark Stadium was momentous on several fronts. The facility is kicking off a league-wide stadium development wave that will extend well into the 2030s; it highlighted the outsized fan passion of the famed Bills Mafia; and the high-profile matchup represented a showcase within Amazon’s improved NFL broadcast schedule.
The audience boost also represented another dose of good news for the NFL, which saw a 13% drop in overall viewership for Week 1 of the 2026 season.
The league’s best television performances so far in the new campaign have been in standalone contests involving marquee teams in traditional primetime windows. NBC Sports saw a 4% audience bump for its Sunday Night Football season premiere on Sept. 14 between the Cowboys and Giants, while ESPN posted its best-ever Week 1 viewership for the Monday Night Football season debut the following night between the Broncos and Chiefs.
The Lions-Bills game also generated viewership increases of at least 27% in the key demographic groups of viewers aged 18-34, 18-49, and 25-54, compared to last year’s full-season average on Amazon.
David Ellison Paramount
David Ellison Paramount
Hawkeye and Oregon fans gather for FOXs Big Noon Kickoff Nov. 8, 2025 in front of the Old Capitol Building on the University of Iowa Campus in Iowa City, Iowa.
Hawkeye and Oregon fans gather for FOXs Big Noon Kickoff Nov. 8, 2025 in front of the Old Capitol Building on the University of Iowa Campus in Iowa City, Iowa.