Fox window led by 49ers-Seahawks averages 26.697 million viewers

Posted by Admin October 15, 2026 NFL

The late-afternoon slot on Sundays continues to generate the largest NFL audiences.

Via Nielsen, the Week 5 window that opened at 4:25 p.m. ET averaged 26.697 million viewers.

The headliner was 49ers-Seahawks, but the Giants-Commanders opening act went to overtime, with the NFC West battle joined in progress, for most markets, at the 4:47 mark of the first quarter. Some markets had Lions-Cardinals at that same time.

The situation resulted in plenty of complaints from Sunday Ticket customers who were not able to watch the game on their local Fox channel, and who could not access the game on Sunday Ticket because it was available in their market. Even if it wasn’t.

We asked the NFL earlier this week whether that glitch would be addressed. The league has not yet responded.

It was the only Week 5 window on Thursday or Sunday that exceeded 20 million. ESPN has not yet released the audience numbers for Bills-Rams. The latest Nielsen report runs through Sunday.