NFL Breaks Streaming Records on Christmas, Surpasses Broadcast TV Numbers

The NFL had a big day on Christmas with an average of 22.9 million viewers for three games. The Lions-Vikings game on Netflix was the most-streamed NFL game ever, and Prime Video had its best Thursday night game yet, according to Nielsen. This is a drop from 24 million viewers for Netflix’s Christmas doubleheader in 2024. It’s clear that streaming audiences are still lower than what broadcast TV was able to deliver on Christmas in 2023.

Some industry insiders think that adding a holiday streaming package could be something the NFL considers for its future rights deals. Netflix’s Lions-Vikings game had an impressive 27.5 million U.S. viewers, making it the best streaming-only NFL game yet. Earlier on Christmas day, Netflix drew 19.9 million for Cowboys-Commanders. In addition, Netflix picked up three of the top four streaming-only regular-season NFL audiences on record this year.

On the global front, Cowboys-Commanders had 22.4 million viewers, and Lions-Vikings had 30.5 million globally. Lions-Vikings was also the most socially consumed sporting event on Netflix that day. Netflix has one more year on its deal for NFL Christmas Day games. Prime Video’s Broncos-Chiefs game in primetime averaged 21.1 million viewers, the best “Thursday Night Football” audience yet for Amazon.

Overall, the NFL attracted a reach of 76 million viewers, surpassing the 47.2 million for five NBA games on Christmas. The numbers show the growing popularity of streaming platforms for sports content, and the potential for continued growth in this space.