Posted on 12/27/2024 7:55:01 AM PST by Red Badger
The numbers are in for the NFL's debut on Netflix on Christmas Day and two things are certain: We're talking records and this won't be the last time the league and streaming service team up beyond its current three-year agreement.
The headline is the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans versus the Baltimore Ravens on Netflix delivered the two most-streamed NFL games in history, with an average audience of over 24 million viewers each.
Bad News For LeBron And NBA So, LeBron James, who on Wednesday infamously proclaimed that Christmas sports viewing belongs to the NBA, is going to be crying when he sees the numbers.
Christmas was a record-breaking day for Netflix and the NFL, with a total unduplicated audience of nearly 65 million U.S. viewers, according to Nielsen.
The Ravens versus Texans (24.3 million average minute audience) and Chiefs versus Steelers (24.1 million average minute audience) are the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history, according to Nielsen.
The NBA's games averaged 5.5 million viewers each.
Womp, womp, womp.
Ravens and Texans Attracted 27 Million Viewers U.S. viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked with over 27 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
Global ratings and additional U.S. insights will be released Dec. 31 – providing a comprehensive look at Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday performance worldwide.
Ravens-Texans, the second game of the day's doubleheader, was the most-watched Christmas Day game on record among the 18-to-34-year-old demographic, with 5.1 million U.S. viewers based on Nielsen records dating back to 2001.
"We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience," said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution in a statement. "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."
Future For NFL-Netflix Is Bright This year marked the first of a three-season partnership with Netflix to broadcast NFL games on Christmas Day.
It is now possible several things will happen:
Netflix, which is said to covet more sports coverage to stream live, may attempt to add to its portfolio of games when the NFL next opens bidding on its broadcast packages, per an industry source.
The NFL, which wants to expand its brand worldwide with international games, could now see the global reach of Netflix as another avenue for doing that. And that could eventually mean more games on Netflix.
LeBron James couldn't have gotten it more wrong.
nfl sunday ticket, Thursday nite games are on Amazon prime and now this.....I wonder if these are trial balloons for an all games all season pay per view one day.
Yes, they are. Eventually no more Over-the-air ‘free’ broadcasts.
I don’t have Sunday Ticket this year, but have had in the past on DirecTV. Don’t have Netflix or any streaming service.
If it’s not on local broadcasts I don’t see it unless I go to a sports bar restaurant for a particular game.
The NFL is shooting itself in the butt, longterm.............
Yes, they are. Eventually no more Over-the-air ‘free’ broadcasts.
I don’t have Sunday Ticket this year, but have had in the past on DirecTV. Don’t have Netflix or any streaming service.
If it’s not on local broadcasts I don’t see it unless I go to a sports bar restaurant for a particular game.
The NFL is shooting itself in the butt, longterm.............
Looks like the NFL is heading for another Paperneck period.
I won’t pay for Prime or Netf*cks. Advertisers will let them know eventually.
NFL IS PISSING OFF ALOT OF LONG TIME FANS
Do you know if it’s on Prime or Netflix if there is still advertising?
I would be pissed if I was paying to watch crummy commercials............
How do you think the executives at CBS, FOX, NBC and ABC feel about this?
The NFL is a major revenue stream for all of them. Especially CBS & FOX.
It all comes down to Nielsen ratings and how much they can charge for commercials.
Yes, there are still commercials. Keep in mind the game is only 60 minutes long of actual playing time. All those breaks are commercials.
Watch ratings crash next week, as most fantasy football has ended.
While cable TV was a dinosaur, it was at least a single source of content...even if some channels were optional. BUT I never liked subsidizing channels that were leftist.
Now we have the ability to be more discrete with our selections but they’re all part of a very fragmented ecosystem of streaming sources...all with separate contracts, with overlap on content.
Since I cut the chord I no longer get my Red Wings and the Bally’s streaming pricing is absurd...this was the only reason I kept cable for a while.
It’s as though an intermediary is needed - pay a single source that gives you access to anything but you only pay for the entertainment you want. Something like a ‘PayPal’ for streaming content. I don’t want to deal with a dozen companies just to have content I want.
And GO LIONS!! ;p
Could be our year! ...even with the D injuries, it’s like we have a practice squad out there.
A 2 hour basketball game is more appropriate on Christmas than a 3 game NFL marathon.
Those are still crappy numbers for the NFL.
Wonder what the demos are.
I notice Outkick doesn’t mention those...
“The NFL is shooting itself in the butt, longterm”
As long as mostly white people want to live their lives vicariously through their favorite team and or player and are willing to pay inflated ticket prices....even as woke as it is, the nfl is probably safe.
I have an nfl team in my town and they couldn’t PAY ME to go to a game.....if they moved tomorrow I’d get drunk for joy.
LOL, no wonder my Netflix stock is doing so well - I wanted to dump it years ago when they went “woke” - and hired the likes of the Obamas, but was advised against it. Glad I listened to the advice...
Totally agree...I didn’t watch. It’s just a distraction from Christmas, being together as a family, and any religious context.
Plus my wife’s head would explode if I’d asked to turn it on ;p
Broadcast TV will be finished, soon.
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