Cincinnati Bengals fans have long considered Cincinnati one of the NFL’s most devoted cities.
New data from Nielsen now gives Who Dey Nation strong evidence to support that belief. <a href="https://www.nielsen.com/insights/2026/local-roots-national-passion-unveiling-the-nielsen-scarborough-nfl-fandom-index/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank”>Nielsen released its inaugural Scarborough NFL Fandom Index ahead of the 2026 season, and Cincinnati placed fourth among 30 NFL markets with an average index score of 160. Only Buffalo (208), Kansas City (194), and Green Bay (172) finished higher, while Philadelphia (151) rounded out the top five.
The ranking measured fandom across eight metrics: apparel purchases, event attendance, streaming, social media following, linear television viewership, radio listening, betting intent, and general interest. Cincinnati doesn’t lead any one category, but its consistently strong placement across nearly all of them pushed the market near the top of the overall standings.
Cincinnati’s Broad Support Stands Out
Cincinnati ranked in the top five across five of the eight areas, finishing third in social media following, fourth in general interest, fourth in event attendance, fourth in television viewership, and fifth in radio listening. Nielsen identified Cincinnati and Philadelphia as “quiet powerhouses” because the markets built elite overall scores through breadth rather than a single dominant metric.
That makes Cincinnati’s result more revealing than a ranking based solely on television ratings or ticket sales. According to this index, Bengals fans are attending games, following the team online, listening on the radio, and showing strong overall interest at rates that stand out nationally — not just watching from home. With 100 as the national average, Cincinnati’s overall score of 160 is well above the league-wide average.
The rest of the AFC North also performed well: Pittsburgh ranked sixth with a score of 148, Baltimore was seventh at 144, and Cleveland came in 10th at 134. That put all AFC North markets in the top 10, though Cincinnati finished comfortably ahead of all three of its division rivals.
Nielsen said the division’s strong showing was primarily due to traditional, local forms of engagement, including radio listening, linear television viewing, and live-event attendance. That contrasted with large media markets such as New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, which finished near the bottom of the list. New York ranked last with a score of 85.
The index won’t settle every fan-base argument, though it should give Cincinnati a quantitative claim heading into the 2026 season: The Bengals have the NFL’s fourth-most avid local market, the highest-ranked fan base in the AFC North, and one of the league’s most complete forms of support.
Nielsen just released its first-ever NFL Fandom Index, which ranks how avid NFL fans are in each team market based on 8 key metrics:
— Apparel purchases
— Event attendance
— Linear TV viewership
— Streaming
— Radio listening
— Betting intent
— Social media following
–… pic.twitter.com/C5iHuBqwZt— Ellyn Briggs (@EllynBriggs) August 17, 2026
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Arye Pulli is an NFL-credentialed journalist and a member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Since 2020, he has provided on-site coverage of the NFL Scouting Combine, the Senior Bowl, and Super Bowl Media Week. He currently serves as a contributing writer for USA Today’s SaintsWire and Bengals on SI, while also acting as the Philadelphia Eagles Content Curator for Sleeper. He is the co-founder of The Sports Place, a digital media brand that has grown to nearly 200,000 followers.
