Obwohl das Publikum der NFL vor einem Jahr um 9 Prozent gesunken ist, dominiert Football in den Staaten weiterhin das Fernsehen.
37 der Top 50 Übertragungen des Landes (2017) waren NFL Spiele. Das ist mehr als im letzten Jahr, als NFL Spiele nur 28 der Top 50 Plätze belegten (obwohl dieser niedrigere Wert teilweise den Olympischen Spielen 2016 zugeschrieben werden kann).
Sieben der zehn landesweit meistgesehenen Sendungen im Jahr 2017 waren Footballspiele mit 360,4 Millionen Zuschauern. Der Super Bowl LI zwischen den New England Patriots und Atlanta Falcons war (wenig überraschend) die meistgesehene Sendung des Jahres und zog 111,3 Millionen Menschen an.
Das meistgesehene Spiel der Regular Season 2017 war das aufregende, kontroverse Treffen der 15. Woche zwischen den Pittsburgh Steelers und den Patriots, das mit 26,9 Millionen Zuschauern den 15. Platz erreichte.
Hier die Top 50
| Platz | Event | Zuseher |
| 1 | Super Bowl LI, ATL-NE (Fox) | 111.3M |
| 2 | NFC Divisional Playoff, GB-DAL (Fox) | 48.5M |
| 3 | AFC Championship Game, PIT-NE (CBS) | 48.0M |
| 4 | Trump’s Congressional Address (multiple networks) | 47.7M |
| 5 | NFC Championship Game, GB-ATL (Fox) | 46.3M |
| 6 | NFC Wild Card Playoff, NYG-GB (Fox) | 39.3M |
| 7 | AFC Divisional Playoff, PIT-KC (NBC) | 37.1M |
| 8 | 89th Academy Awards (ABC) | 32.9M |
| 9 | Trump’s Inauguration (multiple networks) | 30.6M |
| 10 | AFC Wild Card Playoff, MIA-PIT (CBS) | 29.9M |
| 11 | AFC Divisional Playoff, HOU-NE (CBS) | 29.8M |
| 12 | NFC Divisional Playoff, SEA-ATL (Fox) | 28.7M |
| 13 | 2017 MLB World Series, Game 7 (Fox) | 28.2M |
| 14 | Trump’s Afghanistan Speech (multiple networks) | 27.8M |
| 15 | National Window, Week 15, NE-PIT (CBS) | 26.9M |
| 16 | NFC Wild Card Playoff, DET-SEA (NBC) | 26.9M |
| 17 | Thanksgiving Day Game, LAC-DAL (CBS) | 26.3M |
| 18 | The 59th Annual Grammy Awards (CBS) | 26.1M |
| 19 | National Window, Week 2, DAL-DEN (Fox) | 26.0M |
| 20 | College Football Championship, CLEM-ALA (ESPN) | 25.3M |
| 21 | AFC Wild Card Playoff, OAK-HOU (ABC/ESPN) | 25.1M |
| 22 | Thanksgiving Day Game, MIN-DET (Fox) | 24.7M |
| 23 | 2017 NBA Finals, Game 5 (ABC) | 24.5M |
| 24 | Sunday Night Football, Week 1, NYG-DAL (NBC) | 24.4M |
| 25 | 91st Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade (NBC) | 24.1M |
| 26 | National Window, Week 5, GB-DAL (Fox) | 23.9M |
| 27 | National Window, Week 14, PHL-LAR (Fox) | 23.8M |
| 28 | Sunday Night Football, Week 17*, GB-DET (NBC) | 23.8M |
| 29 | NCAA Men’s Hoops Championship, UNC-GON (CBS) | 23.0M |
| 30 | National Window, Week 17, SEA-DAL (Fox) | 23.0M |
| 31 | National Window, Week 1, SEA-GB (Fox) | 22.8M |
| 32 | National Window, Week 17**, NYG-WAS (Fox) | 22.4M |
| 33 | 2017 MLB World Series, Game 6 (Fox) | 22.3M |
| 34 | National Window, Week 10, DAL-ATL (Fox) | 22.0M |
| 35 | National Window, Week 8, DAL-WAS (Fox) | 22.0M |
| 36 | NFL Kickoff Game, KC-NE (NBC) | 21.8M |
| 37 | National Window, Week 9, KC-DAL (CBS) | 21.7M |
| 38 | National Window, Week 3, CIN-GB (CBS) | 21.3M |
| 39 | Sunday Night Football, Week 11, PHL-DAL (NBC) | 21.1M |
| 40 | National Window, Week 6, PIT-KC (CBS) | 20.6M |
| 41 | National Window, Week 13, CAR-NO (CBS) | 20.2M |
| 42 | Sunday Night Football, Week 2, GB-ATL (NBC) | 20.2M |
| 43 | Regional Window, Week 4, LAR-DAL (Fox) | 20.1M |
| 44 | The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards (NBC) | 20.0M |
| 45 | 2017 NBA Finals, Game 3 (ABC) | 20.0M |
| 46 | National Window, Week 12, NO-LAR (CBS) | 19.9M |
| 47 | National Window, Week 7, CIN-PIT (CBS) | 19.8M |
| 48 | Sunday Night Football, Week 13, PHL-SEA (NBC) | 19.7M |
| 49 | 2017 NBA Finals, Game 2 (ABC) | 19.7M |
| 50 | Sunday Night Football, Week 15, DAL-OAK (NBC) | 19.2M |
*kursiv = Alle nicht NFL Sendungen
Source: Nielsen live-plus-same-day data Jan. 1-Dec. 31, 2017
