The future has arrived. While Netflix doesn’t regularly broadcast sporting events, it certainly has made an effort to get in the game. From the Paul-Tyson event to the Nadal-Alcaraz tennis match, the streaming giant had shown an ability to bring viewers in for live sporting events. However, on Christmas Day, the streamer made its biggest foray into live sports with its broadcast of not one, but two NFL Games.
In the 1 p.m. EST window, Ian Eagle, Nate Burleson and J.J. Watt provided commentary as the Kansas City Chiefs beat the Pittsburgh Steelers by 19 points. According to Nielsen, the game earned an Average Minute Audience (AMA) of 24.3 million viewers. In comparison, the Raiders traveled to Kansas City, Missouri for a 1 p.m. EST showdown with the Chiefs on December 25, 2023 and drew a record-high 29.2 million viewers viewers.
Right after the Chiefs took down the Steelers, Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens delivered a 29-point beatdown of the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium. Similarly, the late afternoon matchup earned an AMA of 24.3 million viewers. However, the audience did peak at 27 million viewers when Houston native Beyonce brought out Post Malone, Shaboozey and her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, for a special performance at halftime.
Moving forward, Netflix is scheduled to broadcast at least one holiday game per year in 2025 and 2026. As for the streamer’s overall sports streaming endeavors, Netflix will being airing WWE’s Monday Night Raw in January.
