NFL Kickoff Game Draws 25 Million Viewers
The Seahawks-Patriots opener averaged over 25 million viewers on NBC and Peacock, its fourth straight year leading the demo among adults 18-49.
The NFL's Kickoff Game pulled in more than 25 million viewers on NBC and Peacock last week, and that number did more damage to President Donald Trump's claims about his convention speech.
Nielsen data released Monday by NBC Sports showed the Seattle Seahawks' win over the New England FC Patriots, a rematch of Super Bowl LX, averaged the audience for a fourth straight year. Among adults 18 to 49, the game drew 10 million viewers across NBC, Peacock and digital platforms, the largest number in that demographic since 2021.
The broadcast landed on the same night as the opening of the first Republican midterm convention, held in Dallas, Texas. Trump delivered a 105-minute address carried live by Fox News and claimed the event's "overall numbers beat the NFL." He offered no figures to back that up. Nielsen's numbers put the speech at roughly 2.5 million viewers,.
The mismatch extended through the convention. An average of 2.5 million watched Fox News between 9 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET on the Wednesday of the keynote, according to preliminary figures reported by The New York Times and Mediate. Both outlets noted the two-day event failed to give Fox News its usual ratings lift, with the Wednesday and Thursday broadcasts landing below the audiences that Hannity and Gutfeld! draw on a normal night.
The San Francisco 49ers' game against the Los Angeles Rams in Australia averaged 18.5 million U.S. viewers on Netflix and peaked at 21.3 million, another sign of how far NFL programming now reaches beyond broadcast television.
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