NFL viewership is up heading into Week 3 of the regular season. By how much? That depends on how you look at it.

Through two weeks of action, the average viewership of all NFL games is 18.7 million, 8% higher than the average audience during the first two weeks of the 2023 season. 

However, this season included the league’s debut game in Brazil, an Eagles 34–29 win over the Packers, which was streamed exclusively on Peacock. That rare Friday night matchup in Week 1 drew 14.2 million viewers in prime time, including local over-the-air audiences in Philadelphia and Green Bay.

Since there’s no previous game window to compare that to, the NFL has been excluding it from its viewership reports. Without the Peacock game, NFL broadcasts are averaging 19.7 million viewers—up 12% compared to last season, and the second highest on record through two weeks.

So, the story around NFL viewership to start the season is positive, either up 8% or 12%—dealer’s choice. And as the weeks go on, the impact of the Peacock stream on overall NFL numbers will lessen.

Chiefs Still Reign Supreme

After the Chiefs opened the 2024 season with a 27–20 victory over the Ravens that drew an NFL kickoff game record of 28.9 million viewers on NBC, Kansas City delivered again in Week 2.

The Chiefs’ 26–25 last-second win over the Bengals garnered an audience of 27.9 million on CBS, which was the network’s most-watched September NFL game since 1998.

Rodgers, Cowboys in Spotlight

Week 3 begins Thursday night with Aaron Rodgers and the Jets hosting the Patriots in New York’s second of six prime-time contests in the first 11 weeks of the season. ESPN platforms averaged 20.4 million viewers for the first of those Jets national spotlights—a 32–19 loss at the 49ers on Monday Night Football in Week 1.

On Sunday at 4:25 p.m. ET, Fox and Tom Brady will get the Cowboys for the third consecutive week. The matchup against reigning MVP Lamar Jackson and the surprisingly winless Ravens should draw another strong TV audience, especially with Dallas coming off a lopsided loss, adding to the drama. NBC gets another shot at the Chiefs, who visit the Falcons on Sunday night, with the added buzz that Taylor Swift might be in the house to watch.

The 76ers’ push to build a downtown arena has never been easy or straightforward, and even with a new dose of support from Philadelphia mayor Cherelle Parker, an uphill path still awaits the NBA team. 

Parker announced Wednesday a new agreement between her administration and the 76ers to develop a $1.55 billion arena in Philadelphia’s Center City, codifying to some degree more than two years of planning by the team to construct their own facility. The agreement also appears to end, at least for now, a rival effort by New Jersey to bring the team across the river to neighboring Camden, though officials there are vowing to still make their case to the 76ers.

“This is a historic agreement,” Parker said in a video address. “It is the best financial deal ever entered into by a Philadelphia mayor for a local sports arena. I wholeheartedly believe it is the right deal for the people of Philadelphia.”

The 76ers, not surprisingly, cheered the mayor’s moves.

“We are grateful to Mayor Parker and her team for their time and diligence in evaluating our proposal and look forward to advancing to the next steps with the city council,” the team said in a statement.

Just the Start

The proposed development, however, indeed must still move through the Philadelphia City Council, and approval there is far from assured. Opposition to the downtown arena proposal remains fierce in the local Asian American community, which protested the mayoral agreement in front of City Hall on Wednesday. 

That sentiment could very well influence what happens when the council takes up the issue, something expected to happen this fall. Most of the 17-member council has yet to take a public position on the arena. Philadelphia’s Chinatown is about a block from the proposed arena location, and concerns there have run the gamut from traffic to potential gentrification and the forcing out of incumbent ethnic communities. 

“Mayor Parker still hasn’t met with Chinatown after all this time, yet feels she can have a stance on whether our community should live or die,” said Debbie Wei, a longtime Chinatown activist. “This was never about one person, and this fight is far from over. We are going to fight this, and we are going to the mat. It’s on.”

Eagles legend Jason Kelce, meanwhile, went on WIP-FM on Thursday and similarly criticized the proposal and 76ers ownership, Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment. 

“I prefer [the team] stays in south Philly, unquestionably,” Kelce said. “They’re strong-arming the city. What do you do? Do you risk losing the Sixers? It just sucks.”

No Change in South Philadelphia

Comcast Spectacor, owner and operator of Wells Fargo Center where the 76ers currently play, is maintaining its stance regarding the team. An offer has long stood for the team to stay in the existing south Philadelphia sports complex after the current lease expires in 2031. Executives for Comcast Spectacor, which also owns the NHL’s Flyers, have also proposed an equal partnership with the 76ers on a new arena in the existing sports complex that would house both the basketball and hockey teams.

As that offer has remained, both Comcast Spectacor and HBSE have also sought to fortify their respective arena development efforts in recent months. HBSE has shown no interest in staying at Wells Fargo Center, but Comcast Spectator is still making overtures.

“Regardless of the outcome of the city’s negotiations with HBSE, our door will always be open for the 76ers to join us in south Philadelphia if they ever conclude that is what is best for their team,” said Dan Hilferty, Comcast Spectacor chair and CEO.