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NRL hits the jackpot with US TV ratings released
Rugby league has come up trumps in Vegas. US television ratings show a 510 per cent increase in viewership for the most-watched game the NRL staged at Sin City’s Allegiant Stadium last weekend.
Peter Jenkins
2 min read
March 5, 2025 - 5:19PM
The NRL has hit the jackpot in Vegas as US television ratings reveal a 510 per cent increase in viewership as part of the game’s great American adventure.
The Canberra Raiders match against the New Zealand Warriors on Saturday afternoon US time attracted an audience of 371,000 on the FOX free-to-air channel.
Combined with viewers on the streaming service watchnrl.com, it is understood the overall audience for that one game exceeded 400,000 in the US — more than watched the match in NZ.
When the NRL staged its first Vegas showcase last year, the most viewed match between South Sydney and Manly drew an audience of just 61,000.
In only 12 months the NRL has not only increased its viewership significantly but with an exponential growth rate that suggests it can challenge other major sports — including Formula One motor racing — before its five-year agreement in Vegas concludes.
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scores for Warriors against Canberra in Las Vegas season opener. Picture: Getty Images
Roger Tuivasa-Sheck scores for Warriors against Canberra in Las Vegas season opener. Picture: Getty Images
The Las Vegas F1 Grand Prix was watched by 951,000 Americans on ESPN last November.
America’s leading sports economist Dan Rascher told The Daily Telegraph that audiences of around 500,000 are enough to have US broadcasters competing strongly for rights.
“Any sort of new or start up leagues into this market also have to find a way of providing constant content, but NRL has that covered (via regular season matches in Australia),” he said.
Televised on the FOX Sports 1 channel in the US, the women’s Test between Australia and England drew an audience of 54,000.
But the lopsided nature of the contest, with the Aussie Jillaroos slaughtering their rivals 90-4, had a serious impact on the final NRL match between Penrith and Cronulla, with TV sources suggesting viewers had already turned off during the non-competitive women’s encounter.
Also on Fox Sports 1, the Panthers-Sharks match returned an audience of only 33,000.
Penrith beat the Sharks in Vegas
Wigan fans celebrate against Warrington at Allegiant Stadium. Picture: Jonathan Ng
But the two NRL matches combined delivered more than 400,000 American viewers to Fox, compared to 105,000 in 2024 — an increase of 285 per cent.
While audience numbers for Fox Sports in Australia are still being finalised, it is likely the two NRL matches will record 2.7 million fans across a variety of broadcasters in Australia, NZ and the US.
The Australian figures across Fox and Nine are set to reach 2 million, with 400,000 in the US and around 300,000 in NZ.
The Super League match between Wigan and Warrington did not have ratings recorded on the FOX Soccer Plus channel in the US, but in the UK it was the most watched regular season game on record for Sky Sports with 340,000 viewers.
Other ratings highlights from last weekend included the Panthers-Sharks match attracting the biggest Australian TV audience ever for a regular season game between the two teams, and the Jillaroos-England Test setting record viewership for a women’s international match.
“I’m extremely proud of what we’ve achieved in the US,” NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said.
“Played in front of the biggest crowd for a season opener in 15 years (45,209), 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.”
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