• Sunday Afternoon Game Draws 38 Million Viewers
• Audience Up 12% From ESPN’s 2025 Divisional Matchup
• Postseason NFL Countdown Draws More than Six Million Viewers

With an audience of 38 million viewers, ESPN’s 2026 Divisional Round telecast (Sunday, Jan. 18, 3 p.m. ET) delivered a historic performance, as the Texans–Patriots matchup became the most-watched event in ESPN history, dating back to the network’s launch in 1979. The game also ranks as Disney’s most-watched sporting event outside of the Super Bowl across nearly three decades of live sports coverage.

Airing across ESPN, ABC and ESPN Deportes, the game averaged 37,965,000 viewers and, across ESPN and ABC alone, 37,907,000 viewers. Both audience figures result in the most-watched ESPN event of all time and Disney’s most-watched sporting event outside Super Bowls. Additional highlights:

• ESPN’s Most-Watched NFL Game Ever: The audience surpasses every NFL game—regular season or postseason—aired on ESPN since the network began televising the NFL in 1987.
• Double-Digit Year-Over-Year Growth: Viewership rose 12% from the 2025 Divisional Round (Texans-Chiefs) and 17% from the 2024 Divisional Round (Texans-Ravens). This marks the third straight year ESPN’s final NFL game of the season has set a new company NFL record.
• Among Disney’s Top Sporting Events: The broadcast surpasses the 2006 Rose Bowl on ABC, becoming Disney’s most-watched sporting event outside of Super Bowls.
• Viewership Peaks at Nearly 45 Million: The telecast peaked at 44.9 million viewers late in the second half (5:45 – 6 p.m.).

Disney’s Most-Watched Program in More Than a Decade
Beyond sports, the game stands as Disney’s most-watched telecast since 2014.

Best Combined Postseason Audience in Three Years
Across ESPN’s two postseason games, the Wild Card and Divisional Round averaged 32.8 million viewers, the highest combined postseason average since ESPN began airing two NFL playoff games three seasons ago, and up 13% year-over-year.

Record-Breaking Finish to ESPN’s 2025–26 Season
This record-setting postseason caps a strong 2025–26 campaign for ESPN, which delivered Monday Night Football’s second most-watched season in the ESPN era. Across 25 games — including MNF, Week 18, and postseason coverage — NFL on ESPN averaged 17.4 million viewers per game.

Postseason NFL Countdown Draws More than Six Million Viewers
Postseason NFL Countdown aired on ABC and ESPN, drawing more than six million viewers for the nearly three-hour pregame show (noon–2:45 p.m. ET). The 6.1 million viewers represent a 26% year-over-year increase, with both editions leading into ESPN’s Divisional Round telecast.

For historical superlatives and year-over-year comparisons, the ESPN and ABC only audience figure was used.