From the no surprise department, a massive television audience tuned into the first NFL game of the season.
The Packers/Seahawks NFL Kickoff Game drew a 15.5 final rating and 26.9 million viewers on NBC Thursday night, up 4% in ratings and 7% in viewership from last year’s delayed Ravens/Broncos opener (14.9, 25.1M) and up 5% and 13%, respectively, from Cowboys/Giants opposite the Democratic National Convention in 2012 (14.7, 23.9M).
Packers/Seahawks earned the third-highest rating and viewership ever for the NFL Kickoff Game (dates back to 2002), trailing only Vikings/Saints in 2010 (16.5, 27.5M) and Saints/Packers the following year (16.0, 27.2M). Overall, the game drew the ninth-largest regular season audience on NBC since the network resumed airing games in 2006.
Compared to other sports, the Kickoff Game drew a larger audience than the Germany/Argentina World Cup final in July (26.5M on ABC/Univision) and the Florida State/Auburn BCS National Championship Game in January (26.1M on ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNEWS). Outside the NFL Playoffs, the only sports telecast to earn a larger audience this year was the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics on NBC (31.7M).
Among adults 18-49, Thursday’s game had a 10.2 rating — actually down a tick from last year (10.3) and up 5% from 2012 (9.7).
(Thu. finals from NBC Sports Group Press Box; additional info from TV By the Numbers)
