The NFL has reported record-breaking ratings for the two Christmas Day matchups, as both games garnered an average of over 24 million watchers.
Kansas City Chiefs took on the Pittsburgh Steelers in the first matchup of the day and clinched the top overall seed in the AFC for the Chiefs, resulting in an average of 24.3 million people watching, according to NBC DFW.
The second game of the day featured the Baltimore Ravens dismantling the Houston Texans 31-2 to take full control of the AFC North division, but that was not the biggest attraction in that game.
Ratings during this matchup peaked during a 13-minute halftime show by Beyoncé, with more than 27 million viewers tuning in to watch the performance.
Overall, this matchup drew an average of 24.1 million viewers, per NBC.
These numbers included the audience watching on Netflix or NFL+ and those living in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Houston, or Baltimore and watching on local television stations, per The Associated Press.
Although the numbers for the Christmas Day matchups decreased from an average of 28.68 million viewers in 2023, a slight decline was expected with the games moving onto a streaming platform.
Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria said in a news release about the ratings that the platform was pleased with the performances and that he could not have asked for a more successful Christmas for the fans.
“Bringing our members this record-breaking day of two NFL games was the best Christmas gift we could have delivered,” he added in the release.
“We’re thankful for our partnership with the NFL, all of our wonderful on-air talent, and let’s please not forget the electrifying Beyoncé and the brilliant Mariah Carey.”
Despite the Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James proclaiming that “Christmas is our day” and that the NFL should back off, Executive Vice President of NFL Media Hans Schroeder said the “numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own view.”
“But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with the results this year with the Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build that over the next couple of years,” he said, per The AP.