{
  "id": 2179474,
  "title": "NFL Network’s Initial ESPN Preseason Ratings Rise 3%",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/nfl-networks-initial-espn-preseason-ratings-rise-3",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-08-20T16:29:39.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Front Office Sports",
    "slug": "front-office-sports",
    "url": "https://frontofficesports.com/initial-nfl-network-preseason-ratings-similar-espn-ownership/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The NFL Network's first preseason under ESPN ownership commenced with six national game broadcasts in Week 1, which averaged 1.93 million viewers. Last year's Week 1 preseason on NFL Network had eight games, averaging 2.1 million viewers, marking an all-time high. This year's ratings, using Nielsen's Big Data + Panel methodology, are up about 3% compared to last year's 1.88 million viewers for the comparable six non-Sunday games. ESPN acquired NFL Network on April 1, making all NFL Network preseason game broadcasts available on the ESPN app for subscribers of ESPN Unlimited. The Rams-Chiefs game, with 2.38 million viewers, became NFL Network's most-watched Week 1 preseason game since 2015, surpassing last year's Dolphins-Bears game (2.34 million viewers). The 2025 preseason averaged 2.2 million viewers per game across all networks, a 17% increase from 2024 and the best mark since 2018. NFL Network has seven more national game broadcasts in Week 2, which begins Thursday night.",
  "summary": "Rams-Chiefs averaged a Week 1-high 2.38 million viewers.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}