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[09/15/26 - 01:52 PM]
NBC Sports Delivers 25+ Million Viewers for Both NFL Kickoff Game and "Sunday Night Football" Opener for First Time Since 2015
Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC "Sunday Night Football" season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data.
[via press release from NBC Sports]

NBC SPORTS DELIVERS 25+ MILLION VIEWERS FOR BOTH NFL KICKOFF GAME AND "SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL" OPENER FOR FIRST TIME SINCE 2015

Cowboys-Giants is Most-Watched Sunday Night Football Opener since 2015, Averaging 25.7 Million Viewers on NBC and Peacock

Cowboys-Giants Audience Peaked at 29.0 Million Viewers in Second Quarter

STAMFORD, Conn. - Sept. 15, 2026 - NBC Sports kicked off the 21st season of Sunday Night Football - primetime's #1 show for an unprecedented 15 consecutive years - with a pair of games on NBC and Peacock that both averaged at least 25 million viewers - marking the first time since 2015 that the NFL Kickoff Game and the SNF opener each topped 25 million viewers.

Sunday's Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, marking the most watched NBC Sunday Night Football season opener since 2015 (Giants at Cowboys), based on Nielsen Big Data inclusive of first party data. Cowboys-Giants also topped last season's thrilling SNF opener (Bills 41, Ravens 40) by 4%.

Including last Wednesday's average audience of 25.1 million viewers for Patriots-Seahawks in the NFL Kickoff Game, both NBC Sports NFL games on the opening weekend averaged 25+ million viewers for the first time since 2015, which featured Steelers-Patriots (Thursday) and Giants-Cowboys (Sunday) games both decided by one score.

The audience for Sunday's Cowboys-Giants matchup (8:25-11:29 p.m. ET), a 28-20 New York victory, peaked at 29.0 million viewers on NBC and Peacock in the second quarter (9-9:15 p.m. ET).

--NBC SPORTS--





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· SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL (NBC)




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