Netflix attracts 24 million viewers to first Christmas NFL games
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The NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers averaged 24.1 million viewers on Netflix.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK – Netflix said its coverage of two Christmas Day National Football League (NFL) games, the first ever by the streaming company, attracted more than 24 million viewers each, well above what the average pro football broadcast has delivered this season.
An early game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Steelers averaged 24.1 million viewers, the company said on Dec 26. The later match between the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans, which featured a half-time performance by Beyonce, drew 24.3 million and peaked at more than 27 million during her show.
“Bringing our members this record-breaking day of two NFL games was the best Christmas gift we could have delivered,” Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement.
“We’re thankful for our partnership with the NFL, and all of our wonderful on-air talent.”
Netflix added that the two games set streaming records for the NFL.
Through the 2024 season, the league has been averaging about 18 million viewers per broadcast, buoyed by simulcasts on online services like NBCUniversal’s Peacock. About a 10th of the NFL’s audience comes from streaming, according to Sportico.
Once a company that eschewed live broadcasts, Netflix is pushing hard into sports and other live events.
The company doled out US$150 million (S$203.8 million) for the two NFL matches, part of a three-season deal, as it looks to attract more advertisers to its offering.
In November, Netflix aired a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul that drew a massive global audience of 60 million households or more than 108 million viewers.
Seen as an early test of the company’s live-coverage capabilities, the show drew thousands of complaints from viewers about connection problems and frozen screens.
“We crashed the site,” Paul said, after claiming victory over the 58-year-old Tyson. “This is the biggest event.”
At a media event earlier in December, Bajaria said company engineers moved quickly to address the problem and try to prevent it from happening again.
“We’ve obviously done a lot to learn and get ready for the NFL,” she added.
Any technical glitches on Christmas Day were minor compared with the fight.
Produced by CBS Sports, the NFL games featured announcing talent on and off the field as well as superstar Mariah Carey, who opened the show with her holiday single All I Want For Christmas Is You.
Meanwhile, Christmas Day was also big for TV sports all around.
National Basketball Association games on Walt Disney’s ABC and ESPN outlets delivered their biggest TV audience in five years, with all five games averaging 5.25 million viewers and showing increases from the year before.
BLOOMBERG, REUTERS
