Premier League's Record-Breaking Viewership in the U.S.: A Look at the 2025-26 Season Kickoff
The English Premier League's 2025-26 season kicked off with a bang in the U.S., as NBC Sports celebrated record-breaking viewership numbers. Data from Nielsen and Adobe Analytics revealed that the opening weekend of the Premier League attracted an average of 850,000 viewers across various NBC platforms, marking a 4% increase from the previous season. The highly anticipated match between Manchester United and Arsenal on Sunday drew an impressive 2 million viewers, making it the most-watched opening weekend match in U.S. history and the second most-watched match overall, trailing only behind a 2024 clash between Manchester City and Arsenal.
When factoring in Telemundo's Spanish-language coverage, the United-Arsenal showdown garnered a total audience of 2.3 million viewers, coming close to the 2.6 million viewership record set by the City-Arsenal match in March 2024. NBCUniversal's $2.7 billion six-year extension of its U.S. rights deal for the Premier League has proven to be a lucrative investment, with the league's popularity driving subscriptions to Peacock and delivering strong viewership numbers across broadcast, streaming, and digital platforms. The Premier League's continued success in the U.S. underscores its position as a major draw for soccer fans and a key asset for NBCUniversal's sports programming lineup.