{
  "id": 7677665,
  "title": "Cowboys-Giants was most-watched ‘Sunday Night Football’ season opener since 2015",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/16/cowboys-giants-was-most-watched-sunday-night-football-season-opener",
  "topic": "culture",
  "section": "Culture",
  "published": "2026-09-16T01:30:46.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Yahoo Sports",
    "slug": "yahoo-sports",
    "url": "https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/cowboys-giants-most-watched-sunday-013046794.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "On September 15, 2026, NBC Sports announced that the Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants game on Sunday Night Football (SNF) averaged 25.7 million viewers across NBC and Peacock, making it the most-watched SNF season opener since 2015. This figure marked a 4% increase compared to last season's opener, which was also a Dallas Cowboys versus New York Giants matchup. The game's audience peaked at 29.0 million viewers during the second quarter, as the Giants secured a 28-20 victory.\n\nThe opening numbers for Sunday's game closely mirrored the 25.1 million viewers that tuned in for the NFL Kickoff game between the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots on Wednesday. This success was notable, as it was the first time two NBC Sports NFL opening-weekend games surpassed the 25 million viewer mark since 2015, when the Steelers-Patriots and Giants-Cowboys games were tied in viewership. While this year's first two Sunday Night Football games underperformed the usual opening-weekend audience, the NFL still seemed to be off to a promising start, thanks to the improved quality of the SNF games, especially in the upcoming weeks. The Indianapolis Colts will face the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 2, while the Denver Broncos will square off against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 3.",
  "summary": "ESPN’s Stanford Steve said last week he was “so tired” of watching the New York Giants play the Dallas Cowboys in primetime. Clearly, America disagrees. NBC Sports announced Tuesday that Sunday’s Dallas Cowboys-New York Giants matchup averaged 25.7 million on NBC and Peacock, according to Nielsen Big Data and internal data, making it the most-watched…",
  "key_points": [
    "Dallas Cowboys vs New York Giants averaged 25.7 million viewers",
    "Peaked at 29.0 million viewers during second quarter",
    "First time two NBC Sports NFL opening-weekend games exceeded 25 million viewers since 2015"
  ],
  "editors_take": "The strong viewership of the Cowboys-Giants game marks a promising start for the NFL, with two NBC Sports opening-weekend games surpassing 25 million viewers for the first time since 2015.",
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}