NFL season opener overshadows Trump speech with 25 million viewers

Sept 14 - More than 25 million viewers watched the Seattle Seahawks beat the New England Patriots in the NFL's season opener last week, giving the league a strong prime-time start that eclipsed President Donald Trump's speech at a Republican convention.

The Kickoff Game, a rematch of last season's Super Bowl LX, averaged more than 25 million viewers across NBC and Peacock for the fourth straight year, the Comcast-owned network's sports division said on Monday, citing Nielsen data. .

The game also delivered NBC's largest Kickoff Game audience among adults 18 to 49 since 2021, averaging 10 million viewers in the advertiser-prized demographic across NBC, Peacock and the company's digital platforms, NBC said.

The matchup coincided with the opening night of the first-ever Republican midterm convention, where Trump delivered a speech carried live by Fox News. Trump said the event's "overall numbers beat the NFL," but did not provide figures or explain his methodology.

Nielsen data showed the speech drew about 2.5 million viewers, potentially undercutting Trump's claim.

The NFL's first regular-season game in Australia, meanwhile, drew an average of 18.5 million U.S. viewers on Netflix, with the game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams peaking at 21.3 million. REUTERS