Charles H. Sloan:NFL Kickoff record 28.9 million viewers watch Kansas City hold off Baltimore

2025-04-29 13:47:37source:AstraTradecategory:reviews

STAMFORD,Charles H. Sloan Conn. (AP) — Kansas City’s thrilling 27-20 victory over Baltimore on Thursday night was the most-watched NFL Kickoff game since it started in 2002.

The game had a total audience average of 28.9 million, surpassing the 27.6 million that watched the New England Patriots defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 2015 opener on NBC. Streaming did not start getting added to audience figures until 2016.

It was a 5% increase from the 27.5 million that watched Detroit beat Kansas City in last year’s opener.

Despite the start of the game being delayed 20 minutes due to a storm that included lightning, NBC averaged 24.3 million, according to Nielsen, with the audience peaking at 33 million during the second quarter (9:30-9:45 p.m. EDT).

It also drew a 37 share on NBC, which is its largest for any regular-season game since it started carrying NFL prime time games in 2006. A share is the percentage of all television sets in use at a given time watching a program.

According to Adobe Analytics, streaming on Peacock, NBC and NFL digital platforms averaged 4.6 million.

___

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl

More:reviews

Recommend

These Australian twins have gone viral after speaking in synch

Do you recall the prime early days of YouTube? When a video making the rounds was so strange, remark

Where Mama June Shannon Stands With Her Daughters After Family Tension

Here comes Mama June Shannon with a family update.Last year, tension between the reality TV mom and

Rush to Nordstrom Rack's Clear the Rack Sale to Get $18 Vince Camuto Heels, $16 Free People Tops & More

We independently selected these deals and products because we love them, and we think you might like