NFL Season Opener Pulls in Blockbuster Ratings for NBC as TV Viewership Hits Five-Year High

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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys kicked off the 2021 NFL regular season Thursday night and a lot of people were watching.

According to John Ourand of Sports Business Journal, NBC’s Sunday Night Football presentation of Bucs-Cowboys on a Thursday night garnered a 15.9 overnight rating. The share was up 16 percent from last season’s overnight number, but more impressively it marked a five-year high for the NFL Kickoff Game.

Early numbers report 21.98 million viewers watched the game via NBC. The number is up 29 percent from last season’s kickoff broadcast featuring the Chiefs and Texans, as well as the 2019 Packers-Bears opener. The final audience tally for the Bucs-Cowboys broadcast is expected to increase for NBC once out-of-home viewing is added.

The impressive rating comes after some fans and analysts victimized the NFL for reaffirming its stance on promoting social justice messaging. In addition to allowing select messages such as “Black Lives Matter” to be displayed on players’ helmets, the league is also featuring the song Lift Every Voice and Song, known as the Black national anthem prior to major events.

While most sports saw their ratings bounce back some after a year ravaged by the global pandemic, the NFL’s ability to exceed not only 2020, but its previous five seasons is a strong sign that football is doing just fine.