Even after all the negative publicity the NFL suffered this offseason, the league’s first preseason game was a ratings boon.
The Steelers vs. Vikings Hall of Fame game averaged 9.7 million viewers, up from the 8.5 million the Giants-Bills drew last season.
To put the NFL’s popularity in perspective, the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup Final series topped out at 8 million viewers for Game 6 and averaged 5.6 million.
That's right -- NBC's first NFL preseason game overnight rating was higher than its Blackhawks-Lightning Stanley Cup clincher (Game 6)
— Austin Karp (@AustinKarp) August 10, 2015
Last night's NFL game was higher rated nationally than the Hawks / Lightning Game 6. Good lord.
— Jay Zawaski (@jayzawaski) August 10, 2015
By comparison, the 2014 World Series averaged 13.8 million viewers. The NBA Finals, which featured LeBron James and were the highest rated since the Michael Jordan era, averaged just under 20 million viewers.