NBC Averages More than 25 Million Viewers for NFL Kickoff Weekend Games for 5th Consecutive Season
Telecasts Dominate Primetime Competition – Topping All Broadcast Nets in Viewership & All Key Demos
Games set NBC Sports Live Extra streaming records
STAMFORD, Conn. – September 9, 2014 – NBC averaged 25.3 million viewers for two NFL Kickoff Weekend games – Seattle’s 36-16 win over Green Bay on Thursday, and Denver’s 31-24 victory over Indianapolis on the debut of Sunday Night Football – which ranked as primetime television’s two most-watched programs last week, according to official national data released by The Nielsen Company.
The Seahawks’ 20-point victory in the Thursday “NFL Kickoff” game was the most-watched primetime show of the week (Sept. 1-7), with an average of 26.9 million viewers. The Sunday Night Football opener, in which Denver jumped out to a 24-0 first-half lead, averaged 23.7 million viewers and ranked as primetime television’s #2 show of the week.
NBC has averaged more than 25 million viewers on NFL Kickoff Weekend (two-game average) for five consecutive seasons.
Also notable from NBC’s Week 1 NFL telecasts:
- The Thursday “NFL Kickoff” game and debut of Sunday Night Football generated the #1 and #2 primetime ratings of the week on ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox in every key category – adults, men and women 18-34, 18-49 and 25-54.
- NBC’s Thursday/Sunday primetime average in the Adult 18-49 demographic beat by 77% the combined primetime averages of ABC, CBS and FOX on those nights (8.3 A18-49 rating vs. 4.7 A18-49 combined ABC, CBS and FOX).
- The Thursday night “NFL Kickoff” game had a national household rating of 15.5/26, the third-highest rated “NFL Kickoff game” in the 13-year history of the event. The debut of Sunday Night Football had a 13.9/23 national household rating.
DIGITAL: NBC Sports Live Extra’s live streams of “NFL Kickoff” and Sunday Night Football generated records as the highest-trafficked non-Olympic, non-Super Bowl, single-game live stream in NBC Sports Digital history (Green Bay-Seattle), and the most-consumed Sunday Night Football opener (Indianapolis-Denver).
Thursday’s Packers-Seahawks consumption of more than 25 million minutes on NBC Sports Live Extra topped the prior non-Olympic, non-Super Bowl record set in last year’s thrilling Week 12 “Manning-Brady XIV” SNF game, won 34-31 in overtime by New England (21.3 million).
Fans consumed nearly 19.2 million minutes of Sunday night’s Colts-Broncos game, which is the best-ever for an SNF opener, and up 60% vs. last year’s SNF opener.
This Friday on TODAY, the “Together We Make Football” series continues as NBC Sports teams with TODAY to present weekly features, telling the most compelling stories of football fans, players, teams and families across the country. NBC Sports Group’s Josh Elliott will be on-location Friday at the brand-new Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara – which will host Bears-49ers in its first regular-season game this weekend on Sunday Night Football – to report the segment.
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