Las Vegas TV ratings reveal just 60,000 Americans watched the first NRL match in Las Vegas

NRL boss Andrew Abdo declared the league was ‘proud’ of its Las Vegas achievements as TV ratings for the experiment were revealed.

NRL boss Andrew Abdo declared the league was “proud” of its Las Vegas achievements despite local TV viewership figures revealing only 61,000 people in the US watched the first match in last weekend’s extravaganza.

A cumulative average of 105,000 painted a better picture, which was broken down by just 44,000 watching the second match played at Allegiant Stadium last Sunday.

The double-header, which started with Manly beating South Sydney before the Roosters took down the Broncos, was shown on US cable network Fox Sports 1.

Abdo compared the ratings with Major League Soccer, a staple in the US, which made the NRL’s first incursion into Las Vegas a success for the league.

“The Las Vegas matches were watched by a huge number of people around the world, including a record Australian audience,” Abdo said.

“We had a 61,000 average viewership on Fox Sports 1 for the first game, which was more than one-third of the marquee college basketball clash between Xavier and Georgetown which preceded our games. That figure also compares to some US Major League Soccer games on Fox Sports 1.

Manly players at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Picture: David Becker

“The second game attracted an average audience of 44,000. These are the two most-watched NRL matches in the US on record.

“The audience of the first game was three times higher than the most-watched NRL games on Fox Sports in the past three seasons and over 280 per cent higher than the most recent Saturday games on Fox Sports 1.

“We are proud of what we achieved this year in Las Vegas and have been blown away by how positively Americans have responded to rugby league.

NRL ratings in US on @FOXSports compare with @SuperLeague games on @SkySports. Rugby League has been in England for 129 years. Sky pay enough for the rights here to fund the sport - although they play a lot less than they used to. So… this was never gonna be easy. Roll on 2025.

— âš¡Steve Mascord☠️ (@SteveMascord) March 6, 2024

“The exposure the game received and the reviews of the matches by US fans and media will be a massive boost for year two and beyond. We are very focused on the long-term opportunity this presents for the game.”

In Australia, Fox Sports reported record local audiences for the Las Vegas double-header.

Manly’s win over South Sydney attracted an incredible 838,000 viewers to Fox League and Kayo in Australia, while 786,000 tuned in for the Roosters’ win over the Broncos on Fox League and Kayo.

“We all live in hope that a wonderful concept and great effort by many will be rewarded but there’s no better feeling than when the reality arrives in record numbers,” Fox Sports executive director Steve Crawley said.

“What a ripper. What a result.

“The best~ever Fox League NRL match numbers and unbelievably delivered from the other side of the world. Plus best ever Matty Johns Show ratings. And this is just the beginning.”

The games were the first in a five-year deal the NRL signed to play matches in the US, with other clubs now clamouring to get their opportunity to be involved.