The Kansas City Chiefs maintain their dominance beyond the football field. The NFL kickoff victory over the Baltimore Ravens set a new television ratings record for the annual game.
According to NBC Sports, the game had an average audience of 28.9 million, surpassing the 27.6 million who watched the New England Patriots defeat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the network’s 2015 opener. The audience peaked at 33 million in the second quarter, as the 20-minute weather delay at Arrowhead Stadium to start the game didn’t affect the numbers and turn away viewers.
The rating is five percent higher than last season’s opener against the Detroit Lions. The Chiefs fell short in that game 21-20 and were without Pro Bowlers Travis Kelce due to injury and Chris Jones because of his contract holdout.
Last Thursday’s contest almost went into overtime, as the Ravens were a toe away from scoring the game-tying touchdown with no time remaining in regulation. Denver, St. Louis, Norfolk, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Milwaukee, Austin, Minneapolis, Detroit, and Cleveland were among the top markets, along with the expected ratings from Baltimore and Kansas City.
