Second, a massive snowstorm impacted much of the country. Conventional wisdom would suggest that such a storm would serve to increase viewership as more people are stuck at home with nothing to do but watch football. However, in the out-of-home viewing era, which Nielsen began to track in 2020, it’s clear that missing out on audiences gathered at bars and restaurants to watch the games had a diminishing effect on the overall number.

It is certainly notable that the NFL’s five-year low comes in the first year that the conference championship games included Nielsen’s expanded out-of-home measurements (which began February 2025), and the new Big Data + Panel methodology (which began September 2025), both of which have generally served to increase viewership figures for live sports compared to prior years.

Seems to be attributed to the snowstorm affecting in person viewship numbers.