In a landmark moment for sports media, Netflix’s first-ever NFL doubleheader on Christmas Day shattered streaming records and signaled a seismic shift in how fans consume live games. The twin bill, featuring the Baltimore Ravens demolishing the Houston Texans 31-2 followed by the Kansas City Chiefs clinching the AFC’s top seed against the Pittsburgh Steelers, drew an astonishing 65 million U.S. viewers who tuned in for at least one minute.
Streaming Surge Stuns Sports World
The early Nielsen figures reveal that the Ravens-Texans matchup averaged 24.3 million viewers, while Chiefs-Steelers pulled in 24.1 million. Those numbers dwarf the previous record of 23 million set by last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock.
Remarkably, the NFL on Netflix attracted nearly five times the viewership of the NBA’s Christmas slate across ABC, ESPN and its platforms. The NBA’s five games averaged around 5.25 million viewers, according to the league and Nielsen.
Beyoncé’s Halftime Blitz
A major highlight was the Beyoncé Bowl, with the superstar’s electrifying 20-minute halftime performance averaging over 27 million viewers. The Queen Bey spectacle likely played a significant role in the record-setting audience engagement.
Christmas is our day.
– LeBron James on the NBA’s holiday tradition
While LeBron James defiantly declared “Christmas is our day” when asked about the NFL’s stunning success, the viewing public clearly had an appetite for both. The NBA’s Christmas games saw an impressive 84% ratings surge compared to last year, with the Lakers-Warriors clash drawing 7.76 million viewers, the most for an NBA regular season game in five years.
Streaming’s Quantum Leap
As remarkable as the NBA’s growth was, it pales in comparison to the NFL’s quantum leap into the streaming stratosphere. The Christmas games mark the first time the league has exclusively partnered with a streaming service, and the gambit paid off in spectacular fashion.
- 65 million U.S. viewers tuned in for at least 1 minute
- 5x the viewership of the NBA’s Christmas games
- 27 million watched Beyoncé’s halftime show alone
NFL Media executive VP Hans Schroeder summed it up succinctly, saying “The numbers speak for themselves… we’re thrilled with the results this year with the Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build that over the next couple of years.”
The Streaming Sports Revolution
With its Christmas coup, the NFL may have just provided the blueprint for how sports media will operate moving forward. As streaming increasingly supplants traditional television, leagues are scrambling to adapt and innovate.
We’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programing on streaming than they are on traditional television.
– NBA Commissioner Adam Silver
Even the NBA, long synonymous with Christmas, is bracing for the streaming wave. Commissioner Adam Silver revealed that the league’s upcoming television deals will make every game available on a streaming service. From 15 regular season games currently on TV, that number will vault to 75 starting next season.
So while the NFL’s Christmas spectacular may have caught many off guard, it likely represents the new normal. Streaming and live sports, once strange bedfellows, are now inextricably linked. The leagues that most nimbly navigate this digital frontier will be the ones holding up trophies in the end, both on the field and in the ratings race. If Netflix’s NFL Christmas extravaganza is any indication, that future may already be here.
