New York (CNN Business) Just two seasons ago the NFL — the biggest ratings powerhouse on TV — found itself in a media maelstrom. The league was dealing with flagging ratings and strident criticism from President Donald Trump. But that now seems long ago with the NFL notching big ratings for the second season in a row.

The league's TV viewership for the 2019 season was up roughly 5% overall from the year prior, bringing in about 16.5 million viewers with the league's TV partners, Fox, CBS, NBC and ESPN, all benefiting from ratings increases.

This makes 2019 the most watched NFL season in three years. It also keeps up the ratings momentum from the 2018 season, which had increased viewership over the year prior.

In short, the NFL completely dominated TV last year. The league accounted for 47 of the top 50 most-watched shows on TV this season, including the entire top 10. NBC's "Sunday Night Football" averaged 20 million viewers and is on pace to be TV's No. 1 show in prime time for the ninth consecutive year, according to the network.

The NFL was able to bring in big viewership this season thanks to the parity among teams big and small, said Jay Rosenstein, an adjunct professor at NYU's Tisch Institute for Global Sport and a former VP of programming at CBS Sports.

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