Netflix announced that it reached a large audience with two live NFL (US National American Football League) matches on Christmas Day. According to Nielsen data, these games were recorded as the most watched NFL broadcasts ever in the United States. The match between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers reached 24.1 million people in average minute viewers (AMA). The match between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens recorded 24.3 million AMAs. In total, approximately 65 million people watched these matches.
Despite system issues during the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul broadcast on Netflix last month, the platform managed to remain largely stable during NFL matches and performances by Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. In particular, Beyoncé’s halftime show, called “Beyoncé Bowl”, achieved the highest viewing rate of the match, reaching 27 million live viewers. Netflix announced that it will add a standalone iteration of this performance to the platform next week.
As part of the broadcast deal with the NFL, Christmas Day games will be available on Netflix for at least two more years. This strategy aims to increase Netflix’s competitiveness in the field of live sports broadcasts.
Netflix NFL streaming fails to overshadow NBA
Despite the success of NFL broadcasts on Christmas Day, the NBA also had a strong performance. NBA, which traditionally broadcasts basketball matches on Christmas without competition from another organization, announced that this year’s matches were the most watched Christmas Day matches of the last five years. Reaching an average of 5.25 million viewers, NBA matches showed an 84 percent increase in viewing rates compared to 2023.
On the other hand, details of NFL viewership data began to emerge. According to the announcement made on Wednesday, the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers match became the second most popular live broadcast on Netflix. One-third of Netflix’s total viewers at the time watched this match.