To borrow a football metaphor, the NFL has effectively been kicking with a “k-ball” this season, adding out-of-home and streaming viewership to its linear ratings. Even so, the league continues to split the uprights, extending its decades of dominance.

Heading into a blockbuster four-game stretch over Thanksgiving and Black Friday, average viewership is up 6% from a year ago with about 17.7M people tuning in through Week 11, according to Nielsen ‘s Big Data + Panel measurements. And to be fair, the new ratings system isn’t just for the NFL. It’s a new set of standards introduced by Nielsen in an effort to more accurately capture contemporary tune-in, with viewing at bars, restaurants and the like, plus streaming, rolled into the total.

Nielsen began rolling out its Big Data + Pan

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