Netflix Christmas Day NFL Games Average 24 Million Viewers in U.S.
As it turns out, more than just Americans were curious to check out live football games and a Beyoncé peformance on Netflix.
The streamer’s big “NFL Christmas Gameday Live” stunt drew a broadcast network-level audience in the U.S., and it prompted subscribers in more than 200 countries to check out some part of the nearly nine-hour telecast, which started with the Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers followed by Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans. At the halftime of the latter game, Houston-born superstar Beyoncé performed a short set of tunes from her “Cowboy Carter” album. It was a heavily promoted appearance by Queen Bey designed to draw attention to the fact that the games were on Netflix — making its debut as a NFL live game partner — and to bring more casual viewers to the streamer’s big Christmas Day experience.
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Netflix cited Nielsen measurement showing that the Ravens-Texans game averaged 24.3 million viewers while the earlier Kansas City Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers bout brought in 24.1 million viewers. Those are more than respectable numbers for Netflix’s first outing and on the high end of what CBS, Fox, NBC or ESPN might garner with a highly anticipated NFL or college football game. Those numbers do not include the entirety of Netflix’s coverage, which began at 11 a.m. ET with pregame coverage and ran through the post-game forensics on the Texans’ 31-2 pounding by the Ravens. And the reinging champ Chiefs made quick work of the Steelers with a 29-10 victory.
“Bringing our members this record-breaking day of two NFL games was the best Christmas gift we could have delivered,” said Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer. “We’re thankful for our partnership with the NFL, all of our wonderful on-air talent, and let’s please not forget the electrifying Beyoncé and the brilliant Mariah Carey.”best Christmas gift we could have delivered,” said Bela Bajaria, Netflix Chief Content Officer. “We’re thankful for our partnership with the NFL, all of our wonderful on-air talent, and let’s please not forget the electrifying Beyoncé and the brilliant Mariah Carey.”
“We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution. “Fans in all 50 states and over 200 countries around the world watched some of the league’s brightest stars along with a dazzling performance by Beyoncé in a historic day for the NFL.”
Netflix has laid out $150 million to carry Christmas Day NFL games for three years. The deal guaranteed the streamer two two games in year one and at least one game for 2025 and 2026. The agreement is risky for the NFL given the chance for blowback from passionate football fans who don’t have access to Netflix. That sentiment was prevelant on social media during Wednesday’s daylong telecast. But Netflix made it through eight hours-plus of live game coverage as well as pre-and post-game shows without a major tech meltdown, which in and of itself is a victory for the streamer.
Netflix is increasingly leaning into live sports and events as its overall business evolves and as sponsorship deals become a priority for the ad-supported tier. At the same time, Netflix offers the NFL easy, uniform access to high-end TV consumers around the world in one fell swoop. The league has invested significantly in recent years in efforts to make American football more popular in Europe, Latin America and other key territories, with a schedule of regular-season games played in such cities as London, Munich, Frankfurt, São Paulo, Mexico City and Toronto in recent years.
The global nature of Netflix’s platform and subscriber base makes it hard to compare the audience turnout on Wednesday to other NFL telecasts. Last year, NBCUniversal’s Peacock streamer grabbed about 10 million viewers with its exclusive Dec. 23 telecast of a Buffalo Bills-Los Angeles Chargers game, which aired on a Saturday night with less promotion than Netflix showered on its experiment.
More to come
(Pictured top: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce of the Kansas City Chiefs speak with NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales on Dec. 25 after the Chiefs’ sealed a 29-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers)
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