The Dallas Cowboys Thanksgiving Day game against the Kansas City Chiefs has officially set a new NFL regular-season viewership record.
Drawing a reported 57.2 million viewers, it officially shatters the previous record, also held by a Dallas-Thanksgiving game. In 2022, the Cowboys and Giants Turkey Day showdown brought in a staggering 42.1 million.
This new record beats that by over 15 million; it had been expected to challenge or surpass the previous high, but this number is incredible. It also surpassed last year’s Thanksgiving game by 42%.
Let’s take a deeper dive into the new viewership record and what came before it.
CBS’s Viewership Details: Cowboys-Chiefs Exploded Ratings
CBS and Paramount released additional details regarding the viewership from the Cowboys-Chiefs record-setting game, and they are staggering.
In a press release, they announced the new 57.2 million record, while also stating that the broadcast “peaked” at 61.3 million around the time of the game’s conclusion, where both Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes electrified.
https://twitter.com/CBSSportsGang/status/1996261769052852653
Additionally, it became the highest-watched regular-season game in Paramount+ history, part of what has become the platform’s most-streamed NFL season yet.
The release also includes information on new records for “NFL on CBS.” The broadcasting giant has seen its best viewership since 1998, with a 9% increase from the 2024 NFL regular season.
In short, this game was one for the ages from a viewership perspective, and the NFL as a whole is seeing new highs set for the 2025 campaign.
Background Info: Previous Highs Show How Big New Record Is
We’ve already discussed what was previously the regular season record holder, but the history behind the Dallas-New York 42.1 million 2022 showing has America’s Team written all over it, as you might expect.
In 2021, the Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and Raiders set a record with 38.5 million viewers, whilst the 2023 version of the holiday staple between Dallas and Washington came in at 41.8.
The 1990s also saw the Boys in the record books; Thanksgiving 1993 had Troy Aikman and the Dolphins’ third-string quarterback, Steve DeBerg, battling it out to an audience of 38.4 million.
https://twitter.com/MLFootball/status/1994142144844718190
Of course, that game became known for its weather, as snow and sleet came down in Texas Stadium, and for Leon Lett’s disastrous late-game, and game-ending error, of sliding into the ball on a blocked field goal kick.
That unfortunate moment in the Cowboys’ history became infamous in the NFL, and was the only game whose viewership got even close to a 1990 Monday Night Football game between the Giants and 49ers.
That one reached 41.5 million and held the record for decades before Dallas started taking over.
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Cowboys are still a big draw and are very popular despite the 30-year drought. Mix in the Chiefs with 3-time Super Bowl winner Mahomes and the Swift/Kelce connection, not very surprising. Plus, with the international games, they are probably getting more eyes there. But that big number may be puffed up some, possibly to gin up even more attention.
NFL has totally switched their stance when viewership went down after the kneeling debacle. Much more of a “patriotic” tone now after what some thought was disrespecting the American Flag/National Anthem years back. Their business model made a big change in direction after getting hit in their pocketbook. Some fans left and never went back. But the NFL may be gaining with younger people. Recent Super Bowl halftime shows have definitely been geared toward that demographic, possibly at the expense of losing older fans.