Streaming giant Netflix has again had huge success with its Christmas Day coverage of American football’s NFL, with the fixture between the Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings becoming the most-streamed NFL game in US history.
The game, in which the Vikings won 23-10, drew an average of 27.5 million viewers in the US.
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The second game, as part of Netflix’s doubleheader, the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders, averaged 19.9 million US viewers.
Netflix has now distributed the top three most-streamed NFL games in US history.
US viewership on Netflix peaked at over 30 million viewers during the halftime show, which featured rapper Snoop Dogg.
Netflix claims that viewers from over 200 countries and territories tuned in to at least one of the games, with the Cowboys-Commanders drawing a 22.4 million global Average Minute Audience (AMA) and the Lions-Vikings garnering a 30.5 million global AMA.
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By GlobalDataThis year marked the second of a three-season partnership between Netflix and the NFL to broadcast games on Christmas Day.
Last year, Netflix drew almost 65 million viewers worldwide for its two-game slate.
The Baltimore Ravens’ win over the Houston Texans was watched by an average audience of 24.3 million, while the Kansas City Chiefs' victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers attracted 24.1 million.
The two games averaged 26.5 million US viewers.
Domestic TV coverage of the NFL is being provided by a combination of ESPN/ABC, Fox, NBC, and CBS (as well as NFL Network), with Amazon holding Thursday Night Football streaming rights.
Meanwhile, the National Basketball Association’s (NBA) traditional five-game Christmas Day slate delivered its largest audience since 2010.
The Christmas games attracted 47.2 million fans on national network ESPN, up 45% from 2024.
ESPN also delivered its largest average NBA Christmas audience since 2018 across its platforms. The five games averaged 5.5 million viewers, up 4% from 2024.
The opening game between the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks generated an average audience of 6.4 million viewers. It is the most-watched early Christmas game ever and up 27% from last year’s San Antonio Spurs vs. Knicks matchup. The game peaked with 8.2 million viewers.
The Spurs vs. Oklahoma City Thunder game became ESPN’s most-watched NBA Christmas game in the 2.30 pm timeslot since 2017 (Cleveland Cavaliers vs. Golden State Warriors NBA Finals rematch).
The Western Conference showdown averaged 6.7 million viewers, up 51% from last year’s Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Dallas Mavericks game. The Spurs vs. Thunder audience peaked with 7.4 million viewers.
In the night game, the Minnesota Timberwolves vs. Denver Nuggets averaged 3.6 million viewers, making it the second most-watched late game on Christmas ever.
The Dallas Mavericks vs. Golden State Warriors game averaged 6.1 million viewers and peaked at 6.6 million. It was also up 16% from last year’s comparable game.
Additionally, the Houston Rockets vs. Los Angeles Lakers game averaged 5.4 million viewers.
