Week 1 NFL merchandise sales at NFLShop.com and across the entire Fanatics network of e-commerce sites (which also includes many of the NFL Clubs online stores) were up 30 percent year-over-year, according to the NFL.

The period ran from September 5, 2019 to September 9, 2019 versus the same period in 2018.

The top-selling NFL jersey during Week 1 was Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.

Other findings:

NFL TV Notes from Week 1

NFL games were the top six programs of the broadcast week (Mon-Sun, 9/2-9/8), highlighted by the top three games, each delivering an average minute audience of over 22 million viewers. (The top non-NFL programming of the week was 9.1M)

  1. New York Giants at Dallas (FOX – 23.9M)
  2. Green Bay at Chicago (NBC – 22.2M)
  3. Pittsburgh at New England (NBC – 22.2M)

For Week 1, NFL games were viewed by a total audience of over 109 Million viewers with a per game average minute audience of 17.1M viewers, up +5 percent vs. 2018 Week

  • The 2019 Kickoff game on NBC between Green Bay and Chicago averaged 22.2M viewers, up 17 percent versus the 2018 Kickoff game (Atlanta at Philadelphia)
  • • New York Giants at Dallas was the most-watched Week #1 FOX National game since 2016
  • • Compared to 2017, the 2019 CBS Single (led by Tennessee at Cleveland & Kansas City at Jacksonville) was up +16% in viewers
  • • Houston at New Orleans was the most-watched Week #1 ESPN early game since 2015 while Denver at Oakland was the most-watched Week #1 ESPN late game since 2015

NFL Digital Notes from Week 1

  • Viewing of NFL games during Week 1 across NFL, Verizon, and broadcaster digital platforms delivered an average minute audience of 514K, up 43 percent versus Week 1 in 2018. (New 2019 streaming options included: NFL Club mobile properties, NFL Fantasy app, NFL.com Mobile Web, Yahoo Fantasy app.)

Social Media Highlights from Week 1

  • All 16 games were the most social sports events during opening weekend
  • There were 38M social interactions generated around NFL Football games during opening week • During Week 1, there were over 250M views of NFL video across Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram (+33% YoY)
  • The three most social games of the week were: 1) Pittsburgh at New England (5.6M Interactions) 2) New York Giants at Dallas (4.8M Interactions) 3) Houston at New Orleans (4.8M Interactions)