Vegas venture paying off with huge viewing figures in US, Australia, NZ
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More than three million viewers in the United States, Australia and New Zealand tuned into the opening two matches of the NRL season at Allegiant Stadium, as new broadcast records were set across the game.
In further proof that rugby league’s globalisation strategy is already paying off after just the second year of the NRL’s Vegas venture, viewership in the US increased by more than 600 per cent on the 2024 season opener.
With exposure on the FOX network driving unprecedented viewership in the US, the Raiders-Warriors match attracted an average US audience of 371,000.
In comparison, last year’s Sea Eagles-Rabbitohs match drew an audience of 61,000 in the United States.
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Las Vegas Round Up
The 371,000 average viewers on FOX was up 86% on FOX’s previous rugby telecast performance of 200K viewers for the Major League Rugby Championship. With WatchNRL streaming these number increase even further.
The Panthers-Sharks match outperformed average viewership on FS1 in 2024 by more than 100%, with 33,000 viewers comparted to 16,000 for last year’s Roosters-Broncos fixture.
In total, last weekend’s two NRL matches were watched by viewing audiences of:
- more than 2 million in Australia
- more than 400K in the United States
- more than 600K in New Zealand
The stunning broadcast figures in the US, Australia and New Zealand follow last year's record season for NRL crowds and viewers, which was kick-started by the season opener in Las Vegas.
The inaugural Vegas venture also led to new sponsorships with global brands such as Red Bull and JD Sports, as well as partnerships with the UFC and WWE.
NRL CEO Andrew Abdo said the ratings outcomes for the 2025 Rugby League in Last Vegas festival were outstanding for just the second year of the venture.
“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,” 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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Top moments from Las Vegas Round 1
In addition, the broadcast audience for the Jillaroos-England Test was the highest for a women’s international, while the Wigan-Warrington match was SKY Sports’ most watched regular season Super League match - excluding one game during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Australia-England match was watched by 54,000 viewers in the United States on FS1 - almost as many as tuned into last year's Manly-Souths clash on the same channel.
Nine announced an average viewing audience of 353,000 for the women's Test, while the Foxtel Group reported that it was the network's most watched Jillaroos match.
In Australia, coverage of the quadruple header propelled FOX League to its most streamed day of all-time, with 144 million minutes of action at Allegiant Stadium streamed.
The Panthers-Sharks match was the best performing regular season fixture between the two club on FTA, with 715K viewers tuning in on Nine.
It was also the third most watched season opener ever and the seventh most watched regular season match on record.
The involvement of the Warriors also saw viewership in New Zealand increase significantly on last year’s season opening matches in Las Vegas, with 557,000 fans tuning in on SKY Sport NZ and other SKY platforms.
This compared to last year's total of 159k for the two matches in New Zealand.
By the numbers: Las Vegas viewership
United States
- Exposure on the Fox network drove unprecedented viewership in the US, with the Raiders v Warriors fixture attracting 371,000 viewers on the Fox network. This is 6.1 x bigger than the previous highest (Sea Eagles v Rabbitohs) last year on FS1 (+508%).
- The 371K average viewers on FOX, up 86% over FOX’s previous Rugby telecast performance of 200K viewers for the Major League Rugby Championship. With WatchNRL streaming these numbers increase even further.
- Total US viewership for the two NRL fixtures was 3.8 x last years combined viewership of 105K (+285%)
- The Panthers v Sharks outperformed average viewership on FS1 in 2024 by 106% (33K vs.16K)
Australia/New Zealand
- Best performing regular season Panthers vs Sharks fixture on FTA of all-time - 715K (+16.4%), surpassing the previous highest of 614K (2016).
- Las Vegas coverage propelled FOX League to its #1 most streamed day of all-time, with 144 million minutes.
- Raiders v Warriors - Most watched regular season Fox Exclusive match between the two sides.
- Panthers v Sharks - Most watched regular season match between the two sides.
- Panthers v Sharks - Third most watched season opener ever and seventh most watched regular season match on record.
- Jillaroos v England - Most watched Women’s international match of all time on record.
- Jillaroos v England is the #1 Women’s international match of all-time across the Foxtel Group.
- Wigan v Warrington is the #1 English Super League match of all-time across the Foxtel Group.
- New Zealand viewership more than tripled, with 402,000 fans watching the Raiders-Warriors match on SKY Sport, a further 91K on SKY Go and 64K on SKY Sport Now. The match was broadcast at 1pm NZT. In comparison, last year's Vegas double-header drew a combined viewership of 159K (+93%).
Super League
- Viewing figures on Sky Sports for the Wigan-Warrington clash peaked at 340,000 – the highest ever for a regular season Super League fixture, excluding one match during the Covid-19 pandemic.
