Netflix received an early Christmas present after the streaming giant revealed the strong viewing numbers that its first NFL matchup generated.
On Christmas Day, Netflix hosted two NFL games – the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens – after shelling out a whopping $150 million for the rights to each contest. Despite encountering several slight hiccups throughout the day, the streaming services risk taking appears to be paying off.
Immediately following the first game of the afternoon, NFL media shared the early viewing statistics from the Chiefs 29-10 win over the Steelers. The blowout contest is already the second-most popular live title in Netflixs history, with over 200 different countries tuning in to watch at some point during the game.
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Netflix additionally eclipsed its peak concurrent viewers of any Christmas Day in the last four years, as one third of the media giants global concurrents tuned into the Chiefs-Steelers game.
Taking to social media, droves of NFL fans commended Netflix for providing an enjoyable viewing experience. Prior to kickoff, Kay Adams, Drew Brees, Robert Griffin III, and Mina Kimes starred in a pregame show, while Ian Eagle, Nate Burlson, and JJ Watt subsequently stepped in to provide commentary from the booth.
CBS produced the pair of Netflix games in return for a production fee and promotional spots during the two contests.
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That was one perfect piece of broadcasting tbh well done, one X user wrote, with another adding: Well done Netflix and Nate, JJ and Ian did a great job in the booth.
Not everyone was pleased with having to watch the games exclusively on Netflix, however. The more games you take off TV, the less viewers you will have. Not a good idea to alienate viewers, someone wrote.
A fourth chimed in, Another service to own just to watch 2 games. I am not a @netflix customer and I am not planning to be any time soon. Too expensive when added with all the other services we need just to watch what is the #1 sport in america. Sorry @nfl. Im not happy today.
NFLs Christmas day games weren’t without its issues, either. Throughout the first half of the opening contest, several viewers complained that their streams were buffering and providing a pixelated picture. During the pregame show, technical issues with audio equipment also derailed the better part of Adams opening monologue.
I cant even see the ball. Netflix cant handle this. Pixelated garbage!!!, one person exclaimed. Another X user wrote: @netflix Fix your video quality! Call @amazon they can help you out with live streaming! Do better @NFL! #NetflixNFL.
Someone else lamented, Deeply unhappy with Netflix. Disaster delay presenting NFL game Chiefs at Steelers. Netflix must exit that market.
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