The Powers That Be: Daily Will the NFL Break Its Thanksgiving Record?
Nov 27, 2025
John Ourand, a veteran sports media reporter, joins to discuss the potential for record NFL viewership this Thanksgiving. He explains how streaming platforms and premium matchups are driving interest in the games. John predicts that the Cowboys-Chiefs game will be the most-watched regular season game ever while analyzing the Packers-Lions audience boost from Fox's Tubi. They also explore NBC's consideration of licensing Big Ten Championship rights to Amazon amidst rising sports rights costs.
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Hosting Thanksgiving With A Big Family
- John Ourand described hosting a large Irish Catholic family Thanksgiving and losing an argument about lap eating.
- He accepted family consensus and said they would eat around the table.
Thanksgiving Could Break NFL Viewership Records
- Nielsen's new counting method and added big-data sources materially boost NFL viewership totals.
- John Ourand predicts the Cowboys-Chiefs game will become the most watched regular-season NFL game ever, near 48–50 million viewers.
Streaming Adds Millions To Traditional TV Counts
- Fox will simulcast its 1 p.m. Lions-Packers game on Tubi, adding streaming viewers to the Nielsen count.
- Ourand predicts that Lions-Packers could reach about 42 million viewers and be the second-biggest regular-season game.