NFL International Series: Dolphins-Chiefs Sets Viewership Record with 9.6 Million Viewers

The NFL continues its international expansion this season by hosting five total games outside the United States.

The expansion is already paying dividends with an increased TV viewership in the United States.

The NFL Network’s telecast of the Kansas City Chiefs vs Miami Dolphins from Frankfurt, Germany averaged 9.6 million viewers, marking the most-watched international game telecast on record.

Kansas City vs Miami Make NFL Network History

The Chiefs’ win over the Dolphins averaged 9.6 million American viewers across TV and digital platforms. Viewership was up 66% from last year’s game when the Seattle Seahawks met the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Munich, which brought in 5.8 million viewers.

For the NFL Network, it was the most-watched international game on record. For the NFL, the Chiefs vs Dolphins broadcast was the league’s second-most watched morning game, sitting just behind the Dolphins vs New York Jets from London in 2015, which averaged 9.86 million viewers.

Overall, the Chiefs vs Dolphins game was a huge success. It was the second-highest-rated NFL game on cable this year, sitting behind the Jets’ Week 1 opener against the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football, which averaged 10.96 million viewers.

In addition, Chiefs vs Dolphins also ranked third among the most-watched sporting events since Game 7 of the NBA Finals earlier this year. The two highest-rated sporting events were the Jets vs Bills in Week 1 and Colorado’s college football game against Colorado State.

International NFL Games Average 6.5 Million Viewers

There are five total NFL international games this season with three being hosted in London and two in Germany.

So far this season, the three international games have averaged 6.5 million viewers on TV and digital. The viewership is up by 20% compared to last year’s three-game average, which brought in 5.4 million viewers.

At the digital level, the Chiefs vs Dolphins averaged 465,000 viewers across the NFL+ and league’s other platforms. It marks the highest international game for digital AMA on record.