NBC Sports Delivers Largest Adult 18-49 Audience for NFL Kickoff Game in 5 Years
Audience for Seahawks’ 13-10 Victory over Patriots in Super Bowl LX Rematch Peaked at 27.4 Million Viewers in Second Quarter
Patriots-Seahawks Viewership Topped Only Prior Wednesday NFL Kickoff Game by 5%
STAMFORD, Conn. – Sept. 14, 2026 – The NFL Kickoff Game, featuring the Seattle Seahawks’ down-to-the-wire 13-10 victory over the New England Patriots last Wednesday in a Super Bowl LX rematch, delivered an average audience topping 25 million viewers (25.1 million) for the fourth consecutive season on NBC and Peacock, based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.
Four consecutive NFL Kickoff games topping 25 million viewers matches the NBC Sports’ record (2013-16 openers).
In addition, NBC Sports delivered the largest NFL Kickoff Game audience among Adults 18-49 since 2021, averaging 10.0 million viewers in the key demographic across NBC, Peacock, NBC Sports Digital and NFL Digital properties.
Following are additional audience metrics for the 21st consecutive NFL season opener broadcast by NBC:
- Viewership peaked at 27.4 million viewers from 9-9:15 p.m. ET, as the Patriots built a 7-0 lead in the lowest scoring first half in the 21 NFL Kickoff Games on NBC.
- The Patriots-Seahawks game (8:23-11:27 p.m. ET) was only the second NFL Kickoff on a Wednesday, with the audience topping the prior “hump day” matchup by 5% (23.9 million for Cowboys-Giants in 2012).
- Telemundo’s Spanish-language broadcast of Patriots-Seahawks averaged an additional 423,000 viewers.
TOP METERED MARKETS FOR PATRIOTS-SEAHAWKS:
| 1. | Providence | 23.3/58 |
| 2. | Boston | 23.1/61 |
| 3. | Seattle | 22.0/64 |
| 4. | Buffalo | 18.4/42 |
| 5. | Pittsburgh | 15.2/37 |
| 6. | Kansas City | 14.5/40 |
| T7. | New Orleans | 14.2/36 |
| T7. | Minneapolis | 14.2/41 |
| 9. | Detroit | 13.9/41 |
| 10. | Denver | 13.5/47 |
--NBC SPORTS--
