Tom Brady # 12 of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers passes against the Dallas Cowboys during the third quarter at Raymond James Stadium on September 9, 2021 in Tampa, Florida.
Mike Ehrmann | Getty Images
The National Football League began its 2021 season with an exciting contest with two main quarterbacks and a fan stadium, which helped it attract the maximum number of spectators since 2015.
NBC said Thursday that its 2021 NFL opener between Super Bowl champion defender Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Dallas Cowboys, garnered an average of 26 million viewers on all platforms and reached the maximum on NBC television at 25.4 million viewers between 9:45 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. ET.
The game saw a 20% increase in total viewership since the start of last year’s NFL with the Kansas City and Houston Texans heads out. This contest had an average of 19.3 million viewers and was the first game in the NFL during the pandemic.
The opening of the 2020 NFL faced competition from the National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball, Major League Soccer and US Open tennis. These leagues played at the same time due to the postponements of the pandemic, which affected the NFL public. In comparison, the 2019 opening with the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears had an average of approximately 22 million viewers.
The Bucs beat the Cowboys, 31-29, behind Tom Brady’s fourth-quarter lead, which led to the game’s winning field goal. Brady, 44, finished the game completing 32 of 50 passes and four touchdowns. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott also put on a show, throwing 403 yards and three touchdowns.
NBC, which shares a parent company with CNBC, said the 2021 contest had an average of 24.4 million viewers on television and was the most-watched launch match since the Pittsburgh Steelers opened. against the New England Patriots in 2015. This game also featured Brady and attracted 27.4 million viewers.
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws a pass during the regular season game between the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on September 9, 2021 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida.
Cliff Welch | Sportswire Icon | Getty Images
Major markets for the 2021 NFL opening included Dallas, San Antonio and Austin, Texas; Tampa Bay, Florida, and Providence, Rhode Island.
According to advertising data firm EDO, the network generated an estimated advertising spend of more than $ 60 million for the 2021 NFL opening, 16% more than last year. EDO measures ads by search engine visibility, which quantifies the interaction five to ten minutes after an ad is served.
The firm told CNBC that financial and cryptocurrency services companies shared 8.8% of all ad search interactions that appeared during the Bucs vs. Cowboys game, while gaming companies they only shared 1.7%. The average announcement of last night’s match generated 21% more turnout than last year’s contest.
“Last night’s opening game was great news for NFL advertisers, NFL broadcast partners and the league,” Kevin Krim, EDO executive director, said in an email. “We saw strong year-on-year performance with better search scores significantly higher than last year’s opening.”
Disclosure: NBC and CNBC are divisions of NBCUniversal.
Correction: This article has been updated to reflect the number of NBC TV viewers reached 25.4 million and that, according to EDO, crypto and financial services companies shared 8.8% of the total interaction of in-game ad search and gambling companies shared 1.7%.