Sunday’s NFL Pro Bowl averaged 6.69 million viewers across ABC, ESPN and DisneyXD, the smallest audience for the game in 16 years — since ESPN averaged 5.96 million in 2006. Perhaps not coincidentally, it was the first Pro Bowl to take place opposite the Winter Olympics since that 2006 game.
Viewership declined 17% from the previous Pro Bowl two years ago (8.05M). Compared to last year’s Pro Bowl “Celebration” — a two-hour special in lieu of the actual game — viewership unsurprisingly surged 263% from 1.84 million.
In addition to the viewership low, the game’s 3.5 rating across ABC and ESPN would rank as the lowest since at least 1994, though that does not include the DisneyXD simulcast.