NFL 2017 ratings were down, but with help from Chiefs they still trumped other programs

NFL television ratings for the 2017 were down over last year across all networks, as President Trump touted throughout the season.

But with the year’s numbers in, the NFL remained television’s most dominant programming, recording 37 of the top 50-rated shows for the year, according to Nielsen.

The Chiefs were directly involved in two of the top 50 — their playoff loss to the Steelers in January was the seventh-ranked show of the year, drawing 37.1 million viewers on NBC. And the NFL Kickoff Game —the Chiefs’ victory at New England in September — ranked No. 36 for the year, drawing 21.8 million viewers on NBC.

Two other Sunday afternoon windows in which the highest percentage of audience was a Chiefs game — at Dallas and their home game against the Steelers — were the 37th and 40th most-watched programs.

Super Bowl LI between the Patriots and Falcons on Fox topped the year with 111.3 million viewers, and NFL games claimed six of the first seven spots.

In 2016, the NFL had 28 of the top 50 broadcasts, but that figure was affected by the Summer Olympics.

The NFL lost about 9 percent of its audience over the previous year across all networks, with the sport drawn into a feud with Trump over players’ rights to protest social injustice during the national anthem.

The top-rated sports program that wasn’t an NFL game was the Astros’ World Series-clinching Game 7 victory over the Dodgers, which drew 28.2 million viewers on Fox.

Clemson’s victory over Alabama in the college football championship game attracted 25.3 million viewers on ESPN, and North Carolina’s victory over Gonzaga for the NCAA basketball championship drew 23 million on CBS.

This story was originally published January 2, 2018 at 11:35 AM with the headline "NFL 2017 ratings were down, but with help from Chiefs they still trumped other programs."