NBC Sports’ Sunday Night Football kicked off strong. Season-opening weekend delivered its biggest audience since 2015.
What We Know: Sunday’s Cowboys-Giants opener averaged 25.7 million viewers on NBC and Peacock. That’s the most-watched Sunday Night Football season opener since 2015, and it topped last year’s opener by 4%. Combined with Wednesday’s Kickoff Game between the Patriots and Seahawks, which drew 25.1 million, both of NBC’s opening-weekend NFL games cleared 25 million for the first time in a decade. Viewership peaked at 29.0 million in the second quarter of the Dallas New York matchup.
What The Data Shows:
2026 NFL Viewership Data — Opening Weekend Games Featuring Top Broadcast Teams
| Event / Teams | Average U.S. Viewership |
|---|---|
| NBC Wednesday Night Kickoff (Patriots vs. Seahawks) | 25.1 million |
| Netflix Australia Opener (Rams vs. 49ers) | 18.5 million |
| NBC Sunday Night Kickoff (Cowboys vs. Giants) | 25.7 million |
| FOX NFL Sunday Game of the Week (Eagles vs. Commanders) | TBA |
| CBS Sports Afternoon Game (Packers vs. Vikings) | TBA |
| ESPN Monday Night Football (Chiefs vs. Broncos) | TBA |
What Remains Unclear: The release doesn’t detail market-by-market numbers beyond the national average. FOX, CBS, and ESPN have yet to release their data in regards to viewership from opening weekend.
What It Means: The results extend SNF’s run as primetime’s top show for a 15th straight year. Strong early numbers give NBC a good showing following added changes to how Nielsen records viewership data. Overall, a very positive weekend for NBC Sports with two games eclipsing over 25 million viewers.
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