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NFL Crushed The NBA With Record-Setting Christmas Ratings On Netflix

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Dec 26, 2024 7:02 PM ET

It's fitting that a mere 24 hours before Netflix released Squid Game 2, the sequel to its most-streamed show ever, the NFL delivered some record-setting numbers of its own on their platform.

According to NFL Media on X, the two Netflix-exclusive games had an unduplicated audience of 65 million viewers in the United States.

The midday game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers did a 24.31 million average minute audience (AMA), which made it the most-streamed NFL game of all-time. However, their record lasted only a few hours before the evening game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans reached a 24.3 million AMA.

As you might expect, viewership peaked due in part to the Beyonce halftime show, which saw ratings spike to 27 million viewers during her performance.

Netflix NFL Christmas Gameday Viewership

*Unduplicated audience of nearly 65 million US viewers

*Ravens-Texans (24.3 million) & Chiefs-Steelers (24.1 million) are most-streamed NFL games in US history

*Viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked w/ Beyonce Bowl (over 27 million… pic.twitter.com/8E8bb0c3qo
— NFL Media (@NFLMedia) December 26, 2024

Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria was thrilled by the results. In a statement with the NFL, Bajaria thanked the NFL, Beyonce, Mariah Carey and everyone else who helped them put on a memorable day of NFL football.

“Bringing our members this record-breaking day of two NFL games was the best Christmas gift we could have delivered,” Bajaria said. “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.”

The NBA had respectable numbers for their own four-game slate, but none were able to cross eight million viewers on average.

With numbers like that, there's no way that the league is going to pump the brakes on Christmas Day games. The fact that they did numbers comparable to last year's playoff games while competing with the NBA is further proof that the NFL can compete

Another important thing to note is that if Netflix can pull in those kinds of numbers on Christmas, it bodes well for their chances at getting future NFL broadcasting opportunities.

Most of all, it shows that streaming-exclusive NFL games aren't going anywhere.

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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