The NFL’s Melbourne Game 2026 delivered a record-breaking viewership for rights holder Seven Network as 2.19 million Australians tuned in to that commercial broadcaster’s coverage of the American football game.
The league’s first clash in Australia was played on September 11 in front of a crowd of more than 100,000 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, with the San Francisco 49ers beating the Los Angeles Rams 27-7.
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The game, shown via Seven’s linear channel and the 7Plus Sport streaming service, drew a national total TV audience of 938,000, making it the most-watched NFL game ever on Seven (including the annual season-ending Super Bowl).
Meanwhile, more than 155,000 people watched the game via 7plus Sport, which also set a record for the streaming platform.
The broadcaster’s Friday morning (AST) pre-game coverage reached 1.21 million and had a national total TV audience of 526,000, while the post-game reached 1.17 million and had 480,000 total TV viewers.
Kristy Bradmore, Seven’s executive producer of NFL, said: “Yesterday’s numbers tell the story: Australians showed up in huge numbers for a genuinely historic day of sport, and it’s a great sign for what NFL can do in our market.
“The NFL has been building momentum in Australia for years, but seeing it translate into an audience of this size, on a free-to-air platform, at nine o’clock on a Friday morning, is a fantastic result.
“It sets us up perfectly for the rest of the season, and we can’t wait to keep building the NFL’s audience on Seven and 7plus Sport.”
Seven’s coverage of the Melbourne game came as part of the broadcaster’s renewed free-to-air rights package for the 2026 NFL season, with that deal struck at the end of July.
Through the agreement, Seven maintained its NFL coverage through the season, including multiple Sunday night (broadcast Monday in Australia) and Thursday Night Football (broadcast Friday in Australia) games each week, as well as coverage of the post-season playoffs and the iconic Super Bowl.
It also expanded its weekly ancillary magazine show, NFL Tailgate, to twice a week, broadening the range of its coverage.
Seven Network splits NFL rights with ESPN, which licensed its catalogue of sports rights in the market to Seven’s pay-TV rival Foxtel.
Radio rights, including the rights to the Melbourne game, are held by Sports Entertainment Network (SEN), the operator of several of the country’s biggest radio networks, which renewed its multi-year agreement with the league ahead of the 2025-26 campaign.
Charlotte Offord, NFL General Manager Australia and New Zealand, commented: “The 2026 NFL Melbourne Game was an incredible milestone for our league and a powerful demonstration of the passion that exists for the game in Australia. To see thousands of fans come together and embrace the NFL with such energy and enthusiasm was truly special and reinforces our belief in the tremendous opportunity for continued growth in this market.
“We are grateful to have such wonderful media partners, including the Seven Network, who helped bring the excitement of this historic event to fans across the country through their extensive free-to-air coverage, and ensured that those who couldn’t be in the stadium could still be part of this unforgettable moment.”
Meanwhile, the NFL has expanded its visibility in Spain after striking an agreement with YouTube channel CayoTV, which has secured rights to air 18 games live on Sunday afternoons during the 2026 season.
As part of its agreement, CayoTV will produce digital content in Spanish, such as highlights and clips and will provide Spanish-language coverage of up to six NFL International Games being held across Europe during the season.
Games to be played in Europe include one in Madrid (Spain), three in London (UK), and one each in Paris (France) and Munich (Germany).
The NFL will also distribute CayoTV’s content through its platforms, including via the Mundo NFL YouTube channel.
Rafa de los Santos, Director of NFL Spain, said: “This agreement represents a great opportunity to continue reaching new fans in Spain through innovative and engaging content.
“CayoTV’s creator-centric approach and extensive digital reach will help bring all the excitement of the NFL to fans during the 2026 season.”
CayoTV and the NFL work together throughout the season on promotional initiatives, including weekly social media collaborations with NFL channels in Spain, calls to action during broadcasts to direct viewers to NFL games on Mediaset and NFL Game Pass, and regular mentions of NFL Spain content within CayoTV’s coverage.
Kike Levy, co-founder of CayoTV, added: “This partnership is a very important step for CayoTV and a clear endorsement of the model we are building.
“The NFL is one of the world’s great sports properties, and we are thrilled to offer fans in Spain a more social, creator-driven way to experience the competition.”
The new rights agreement will complement the NFL’s current rights deals in the country with pay-TV broadcaster Mediaset, which extended its tie-up in May, and streaming platform DAZN, which runs through the 2027-28 season.
As part of its multi-year deal, Mediaset said it will make at least 50 NFL games free-to-air each season, throughout the deal. This is close to 10 more than were available for free in 2025-26.
