More than 25 million people watched the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots in last Wednesday’s NFL Kickoff Game, giving the league a strong prime-time start that topped President Donald Trump’s speech at a Republican convention.
The rematch of last season’s Super Bowl LX averaged more than 25 million viewers across NBC and Peacock for the fourth straight year, NBC Sports said Monday, citing Nielsen data. It was also NBC’s largest Kickoff Game audience among adults 18 to 49 since 2021, averaging 10 million viewers in that demographic across NBC, Peacock and the company’s digital platforms.
The game aired on the opening night of the first-ever Republican midterm convention, where Trump spoke live on Fox News. Trump said the event’s “overall numbers beat the NFL” but did not provide figures or explain his method. Nielsen data showed the speech drew about 2.5 million viewers.
Separately, the NFL’s first regular-season game in Australia averaged 18.5 million U.S. viewers on Netflix, with the San Francisco 49ers–Los Angeles Rams matchup peaking at 21.3 million.
Meanwhile, The game on Thursday between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams in Melbourne, Australia averaged 18.5 million viewers on Netflix. It peaked at 21.3 million in the 9:30-9:45 p.m. ET time frame, before the 49ers separated after halftime in the 27-7 victory.