A combined total of 65 million people tuned in to the doubleheader featuring the Baltimore Ravens against the Houston Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs facing the Pittsburgh Steelers on Netflix on Christmas.
Netflix is enjoying a fantastic year as yet another new live programming slot has shattered streaming records.
As reported by NFL.com, the Nielson ratings for the Christmas doubleheader football matches (Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers) attracted 65 million viewers across both games. The second game, Ravens against Texans, recorded an average minute audience of 24.3 million, whereas the first game, Chiefs versus Steelers, had a marginally lower average minute audience of 24.1 million, establishing them as the most-streamed NFL games ever in U.S. history.
The second game showcased Texas native Beyonce, attracting more than 27 million viewers, as reported by Nielsen.
“Delivering this record-setting day of two NFL games to our members was the greatest Christmas present we could offer,” stated Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, in a written statement. “We appreciate our collaboration with the NFL, all our amazing on-air talents, and let’s not overlook the stunning Beyoncé and the amazing Mariah Carey.”
A different record was set during the second match. The Ravens-Texans matchup set a record as the most-viewed Christmas Day game among 18 to 34-year-olds, attracting 5.1 million U.S. viewers, according to Nielsen data from 2001 onwards.
“We’re excited about our inaugural Christmas Gameday on Netflix featuring NFL games streamed to a worldwide audience,” stated Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution. “Supporters from all 50 states and more than 200 nations globally viewed some of the league’s top talents alongside a spectacular show by Beyoncé on a landmark day for the NFL.”
The game also became popular on social media. With the hashtag #BeyonceBowl, it reached the top spot as the #1 global trend on X, previously known as Twitter, the moment she took the stage. The hashtag substituted the hashtag, #Christmas itself. Despite Beyonce’s performance, Netflix maintained 10 of the top 12 trending topics on X in the US. #NFLonNetflix also gained worldwide traction, peaking at #2 in Australia, #3 in the UK and Germany, #5 in Brazil and France, and #6 in the US.
This game marked the beginning of a three-season collaboration between the NFL and Netflix to air NFL games on Christmas Day.
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