Live rugby league was beamed into American homes at the weekend as the NRL again took its season opener to Las Vegas.
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The NRL’s Las Vegas venture has enjoyed a qualified TV ratings victory after the round one opening match between the Canberra Raiders and NZ Warriors attracted 371,000 US free-to-air viewers on Fox, according to American ratings company Nielsen Media Research.
That figure represented a large increase on the numbers from last year, when
61,000 American viewers watched the opening match between Manly and South Sydney and 44,000 watched the Roosters-Broncos clash. Both games in 2024 were aired on Fox’s pay-to-view channel, Fox Sports 1.
The Canberra-Warriors match was the only one of the four staged at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday (Sunday, AEDT) to be broadcast free-to-air in the US. It was the first time any NRL premiership game had been broadcast on an FTA network in the US.
While the number of US eyeballs on the NRL increased by more than 300,000 this year, Fox’s FTA channel has a reach of 125 million homes in the States, which means less than 0.5 per cent of the station’s total reach watched the rugby league. An additional 29,000 US viewers watched the game online on WatchNRL.
“While it’s pleasing to see such strong numbers in our key home markets, I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved in the United States,” NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo said.
“Played in front of the biggest crowd for a season opener in 15 years, the huge increase in US TV audience provides us further momentum in showcasing rugby league to Americans.
“The challenge for us is to keep the momentum going by educating, engaging and converting US fans throughout the 2025 season ahead of an even bigger 2026 Las Vegas event.”
The women’s Test between Australia and England was watched by 54,000 in the US on FOX Sports 1, according to Nielsen Media Research. In Australia, an average of 353,000 viewers watched the same game on Nine, the publisher of this masthead.
The women’s game, won 90-4 by the Jillaroos, is likely to be dropped next year after ARLC chair Peter V’landys said
four games was “probably too much”. While a total of 45,209 fans passed through Allegiant Stadium, which has a capacity of 65,000, many left during the Jillaroos’ match – the third of four – resulting in tens of thousands of empty seats for the final game between Penrith and Cronulla.
The Panthers’ 28-22 win was broadcast on Nine and reached an average Australian audience of 715,000, with a total national reach of 1,627,000. The women’s game averaged 353,000.
Foxtel Australia said earlier this week the Las Vegas quadruple-header had delivered several ratings records across Kayo Sports, Foxtel, Foxtel Now and Binge. The group said the Panthers-Sharks match had been its most-watched regular-season Panthers game and the Jillaroos game its most watched women’s international game.
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