Netflix presented two NFL Christmas Day games for the first time in its history on Wednesday, a new foray into sports content for the company. The three-year deal between the streaming outlet and the league for games on the holiday drew interest and intrigue from those around the country regarding its production, execution and delivery. Starting at 11 a.m. EST, the studio team from Los Angeles, Calif. featuring Kay Adams, Drew Brees, Robert Griffin III, Manti Te’o and Mina Kimes took the air to preview the first of two matchups. Within minutes of the pregame show going live, viewers in all 50 states tuned in to the broadcast.
More than 200 countries tuned in at some point during the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers, which featured Ian Eagle, J.J. Watt, Nate Burleson, Stacey Dales and Melanie Collins on the call. Laura Rutledge hosted live coverage from Acrisure Stadium with Devin McCourty and Jason McCourty serving as analysts. Comedian Bert Kreischer reported on tailgates taking place in the parking lot, while the in-stadium field-level show welcomed special guests such as CM Punk and Nate Bargatze. Netflix passed peak concurrent viewers of any Christmas in the past four years during the first game, and one-third of its global concurrent viewers were tuned into the game at just after 4 p.m. EST.
After the Chiefs secured the No. 1 seed in the AFC, the Netflix broadcast moved to the game between the Houston Texans and Baltimore Ravens with the commentary team of Noah Eagle, Greg Olsen, Jamie Erdahl and Steve Wyche. Beyoncé performed at halftime of the game with guest cameos from Blue Ivy Carter, Post Malone, Reyna Roberts and Shaboozey among several others. Mariah Carey opened both broadcasts with a special performance of her hit single, “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
Netflix currently has 283 million paid memberships in over 190 countries, and its ad-supported tier has attained 70 million global monthly active users two years after its launch, according to data from its latest quarterly earnings report. The company reported 65 million concurrent streams for its presentation of a fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson last month; however, there were complaints about the viewing experience surrounding buffering and lag. The consensus around the NFL Christmas Day broadcasts was more favorable ahead of the company beginning a 10-year agreement next month reportedly worth more than a total of $5 billion to become the home of WWE Raw.
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