ClutchPoints
Netflix delivered a historic moment for sports streaming on Christmas Day, shattering its own NFL viewership record with the Minnesota Vikings vs. Detroit Lions matchup. According to Nielsen, the livestream averaged 27.5 million viewers in the United States, making it the most-streamed NFL game in U.S. history, per Variety.
The audience peaked even higher during key moments. The game’s most-watched stretch surpassed 30 million viewers, while the halftime presentation, “Snoop’s Holiday Halftime Party,” averaged 29 million. Those numbers reflect average minute audiences, highlighting how consistently viewers stayed locked in throughout the broadcast.
Netflix also streamed the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Commanders game earlier that day, which averaged 19.9 million viewers. That figure still landed below another Christmas Day NFL showcase, as Amazon Prime Video’s Denver Broncos vs. Kansas City Chiefs game averaged 21.1 million viewers and became Amazon’s most-watched regular-season Thursday Night Football broadcast ever.
This year’s Lions-Vikings audience eclipsed Netflix’s own Christmas NFL debut from last season, when its two games averaged 24.3 million and 24.1 million viewers. With that latest performance, Netflix now holds the top three spots for the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history, further cementing its growing presence in live sports.
The impact extended well beyond the United States. Netflix reported that viewers in more than 200 countries and territories tuned in to at least one of its NFL games. Worldwide, the Lions-Vikings matchup reached an average minute audience of 30.5 million viewers, while Cowboys-Commanders drew 22.4 million globally.
The NFL success capped off a massive Christmas Day for Netflix, which also released Volume 2 of the fifth and final season of Stranger Things. The series ranked as Netflix’s most-watched title worldwide on December 25 and generated 34.5 million views during the week of December 22–28.
Entertainment played a major role in the broadcasts as well. Snoop Dogg headlined the Lions-Vikings halftime show alongside Lainey Wilson, while Martha Stewart opened the segment with a Snoop-themed holiday parody. CBS Sports produced both games, with NFL Media handling studio programming and EverWonder Studio executive producing the Netflix telecast.
For Netflix, Christmas Day confirmed what the numbers now make clear: NFL football has become one of its biggest live-event wins.
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