Netflix’s first NFL Christmas Day doubleheader ended up being successful globally.
The Baltimore Ravens’ 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans averaged 31.3 million while Kansas City’s 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 30 million worldwide, according to Netflix’s first-party data released on Tuesday.
The two games are also the most streamed in NFL history in the U.S.
The Ravens-Texans contest has an updated average of 27.2 million with Chiefs-Steelers coming in at 25.8 million, according to Nielsen and Netflix.
Both NFL games surpassed the previous mark of 23 million for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock.
Nielsen also said there were 65 million U.S. viewers who tuned in for at least one minute of one of the two games, making it Netflix’s most-watched Christmas Day.
Netflix and the NFL said viewers from 218 countries and territories tuned in to at least one of the games.
It was also a nice rebound for Netflix after widespread streaming problems during the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on Nov. 14. The only noticeable technical glitch was the stream not going to live action and starting at the beginning whenever viewers tuned in.
“In terms of the big picture, it went as well as we could have hoped,” said Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports. “Given the weight of expectations, especially coming off a fight, I think we acquitted ourselves as well as we could have hoped. I’m glad that the narrative changed and there was at least an acknowledgment that we didn’t run into any of those issues that plagued us before.”
The Chiefs-Steelers game was in the daily top 10 in 72 countries with high viewership in Canada, Germany, Ireland and Britain. Ravens-Texans was in the daily top 10 in 62 countries with highs in Australia, Austria and Mexico.
The viewer figures include the audience on Netflix, mobile viewership on NFL+ and those who tuned in on CBS stations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Houston.
The NFL’s Christmas numbers decreased from last season, but not at the rate that usually happens when something goes from broadcast to streaming.
Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, averaging 29.48 million on CBS.
This was the first of a three-year partnership between Netflix and the NFL for Christmas Day games. Netflix will have at least one next season, but there is the possibility of another doubleheader since the holiday falls on a Thursday in 2025.
That would make three games on Christmas next year since Amazon Prime Video has the Thursday night package. The NFL has had three Thanksgiving Day games since 2006, so it would not be unusual.
“This proves a couple of things. One, that Christmas Day as an event, and then I think with our reach and the production partners that we had in terms of execution (CBS, NFL Network and EverWonder Studio) that we did create something that was both buzzy and with high engagement,” Riegg said.
The Christmas Day success also gives Netflix momentum going into the new year. Its worldwide partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment will begin on Monday when “Monday Night Raw” moves to the streaming service.
