The NFL kicked off the 2026 season by pitting last year’s Super Bowl teams against each other in a matchup the league spared no hype or promotion for.
\n\nBut it didn’t produce the results they wanted.
\n\nLast week’s Wednesday NFL Kickoff between the Rams and Patriots on NBC saw an 11 percent drop in ratings from the year before, averaging 25.1 million viewers and making it the least-watched NFL season opener since 2022.
\n\nThe numbers surprised both the NFL and NBC. Especially considering last year’s NFL Kickoff special, a Thursday night contest between the Cowboys and Eagles, had to contend with a 65-minute rain delay.
\n\nThe game did do well among some key demographics, as Front Office Sports (FOS) reports.
\n\nAmong the highly coveted group of viewers aged 18-49, though, the Patriots-Seahawks game represented the best audience since 2021 for an NFL season opener. The NFL has also achieved its first four-year run of kickoff games with more than 25 million in average viewership since 2013–16.
\n\nThe Patriots’ and Seahawks’ home markets led 2026 kickoff game viewership, with Providence, Rhode Island, and Boston ranking first and second, followed by Seattle-Tacoma at No. 3. Buffalo, a consistent outperformer when it comes…
Original source: https://breitbart.com/
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