The NFL owns Thanksgiving, but this year took things to another level. The league didn’t just set a new Thanksgiving NFL viewership record — it blew the old numbers out of the water. Fans tuned in from the first kickoff to the last snap, and the late window featuring the Chiefs and Cowboys turned into the most-watched regular-season game in NFL history. If anyone needed proof that the NFL is the king of American TV, Thanksgiving 2025 was the mic drop.
Kansas City Chiefs-Dallas Cowboys Most-Watched Regular-Season Game On Record
Average Viewership of 44.7 Million Across Three Games –
Highest Thanksgiving Day Average On Record
NEW YORK — Dec. 3, 2025 — The 2025 Thanksgiving Day NFL games shattered viewership records as fans flocked to football from early afternoon until late evening.
The late afternoon game on CBS between the Kansas City Chiefs and Dallas Cowboys averaged 57.2 million viewers – ranking as the most-watched NFL regular-season game on record, surpassing the previous high mark of 42.1 million for the Giants-Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day in 2022.
The average viewership across all three games – Green Bay Packers versus Detroit Lions, Chiefs versus Cowboys and Cincinnati Bengals versus Baltimore Ravens – was 44.7 million, the highest Thanksgiving Day average on record (records date back to 1988). The 44.7 million surpasses the previous high of 34.5 million set last year and marks the fourth consecutive year the NFL has set a Thanksgiving Day viewership record.
Digital streaming across platforms for the three games delivered an average minute audience of 2.2 million – the highest on record for Thanksgiving Day and up +58% versus last year.
“Thanksgiving and NFL football have become synonymous,” said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We are grateful to our teams and broadcast partners for these incredible games, and honored to be a part of so many families’ holiday tradition.”
The early game on FOX between the Packers and Lions averaged 47.7 million viewers – the most-watched early Thanksgiving game on record, up +27% versus last year’s Bears-Lions game (the previous recordholder).
The primetime game on NBC between the Bengals and Ravens averaged 28.4 million viewers, up +7% versus last year’s primetime Thanksgiving Day game between the Dolphins and Packers.
NFL programming is the most valuable content in all of sports and entertainment. NFL programs rank as 48 of the top 50 shows on television since the start of the 2025 season.
For the latest news on NFL Media – comprising NFL Network, NFL Films, NFL.com, NFL+, the NFL app, NFL RedZone and free ad-supported television streaming service NFL Channel – please follow @NFLMedia on X and Instagram. Additionally, for general league news visit media.nfl.com.
The post NFL Owns Thanksgiving – Games Shatter Viewership Records appeared first on JetNation.com – New York Jets Blog & Forum.