The battle for Christmas is on between the NFL and the NBA after both leagues released viewership numbers for the Christmas Day slate of games on Thursday, with Netflix’s first venture into broadcast live football games coming with historic numbers.
The popular streaming service carried both NFL contests (Steelers-Chiefs and Ravens-Texans) on Christmas Day, drawing in an audience of nearly 65 million viewers in the United States, Netflix announced in a press release that cited Nielsen data.
According to the data, an average of 24.3 million viewers watched the Ravens and Texans — with viewership peaking at over 27 million viewers during Beyoncé’s halftime performance — and an average of 24.1 million people tuned in for the 1 p.m. game between the Chiefs and Steelers.
The two games now hold the distinction of being the most-streamed games in NFL history.
“We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience,” NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder said in a statement Thursday. “Fans in all 50 states and over 200 countries around the world watched some of the league’s brightest stars along with a dazzling performance by Beyoncé in a historic day for the NFL.”
The previous record was set in January when 23 million fans tuned in for Peacock’s broadcast of a wild card playoff game between the Chiefs and Dolphins.
Nevertheless, the streaming exclusive broadcasts brought in 5 million fewer viewers than last Christmas Day’s slate that broadcast games on CBS, Fox and ESPN/ABC.
Wednesday marked the first time the NFL had broadcast games with its new partner Netflix.
It was the first major live broadcast that the streamer has produced since its glitch-filled stream of the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson boxing match last month in Dallas.
The NFL broadcast went off without any major incidents, and the ratings showed the league can give the NBA a battle for Christmas Day supremacy.
The holiday has long been a tentpole day for the NBA to showcase its marquee teams and players on national television.
the Steelers. USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Con
And while the NFL had a good showing, the NBA also had its best viewership day on Christmas in five years.
In a press release of its own, the NBA announced that it averaged 5.25 million viewers per game (for its five contests) in the United States on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, Disney+ and ESPN+.
They also boasted an 84 percent increase in viewership from last year despite the new competition from the NFL.
The Knicks’ dramatic win over the Spurs drew a viewership average of 4.91 million, and the Lakers’ game against the Warriors drew the biggest audience with an average of 7,76 million viewers, which peaked at 8.32 million at 10: 30 p.m. on the East Coast.
“I love the NFL. I love the NFL. But Christmas is our day,” LeBron James declared after the Lakers won.
The ratings, though, tell a more nuanced picture.