Nielsen or similar recognized viewership data for NFL games during the 2025 holiday season

Netflix NFL Christmas Games Set Record with 65 Million Viewers, Outpacing NBA's Lakers vs. Warriors

Dec 26, 2024, 11:56 PM

Netflix's inaugural NFL Christmas Day doubleheader attracted a record-breaking audience, drawing nearly 65 million U.S. viewers, according to Nielsen data. The games, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens versus the Houston Texans, became the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history. The Ravens-Texans game averaged 24.3 million viewers, while the Chiefs-Steelers matchup averaged 24.1 million. The viewership peaked at over 27 million during Beyoncé's halftime performance during the Ravens-Texans game. The NFL's Christmas Day viewership saw only a minimal decline compared to the previous year's games on traditional TV, indicating the success of streaming as a platform for live sports. Meanwhile, the NBA also reported an 84% increase in viewership for its Christmas Day games, averaging 5.25 million viewers per game. The Lakers' game against the Warriors was the highlight, drawing an average of 7.76 million viewers, marking the league's most-watched Christmas Day game in five years.