OAN Staff James Meyers
2:24 PM – Friday, December 27, 2024
The NFL’s two Christmas Day games broke records on Netflix as the most streamed games in NFL history with more than 24 million people watching each game on the streaming platform, according to Axios.
The first game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers drew in 24.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen. Additionally, a Netflix spokesman said to Axios that around one-third of the streaming service’s global concurrent viewers were tuned into the game at one point. As a result, it made the Chiefs-Steelers game the most-watched concurrent stream of the past four years for Netflix.
The next game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans had an average audience of 24.3 million viewers. Dating back to 2001, the Texans-Ravens game was the most-watched Christmas Day game for the popular 18-34-year-old demographic. Additionally, the game’s viewership hit an all-time high of 27 million when Beyonce performed for the halftime show.
Both Christmas Day games drew more viewers than the 2023 AFC Wild Card matchup between the Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins, which streamed on NBC’s Peacock. As a whole, both NFL Christmas Day games combined with pre-game shows and Beyonce’s halftime performance drew in close to 65 million people, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, the NBA has scheduled games on Christmas Day for over decades, had their viewership increase on Wednesday, but its numbers weren’t even close to the NFL’s. The NBA, which broadcasted its games on ABC and ESPN, averaged around 5 million viewers for its five-game Christmas Day slate. Additionally, this year’s Christmas Day NBA games saw an 84% increase in viewership compared to last year.
Los Angeles Lakers player LeBron James even said during the win over the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday night saying, “I love the NFL, but Christmas is our day.”
NFL Media Executive Vice President Hans Schroeder responded to James’ comment, saying, “The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own view, and I’m sure more people will look at that because of this.”
“But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and 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,” Schroeder added.
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