Christmas Day Chiefs vs. Steelers Matchup Contributes to U.S. Streaming Record

When Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs are on the screen, folks tend to watch. Week 17's Christmas Day slate proved no different in the United States.

Dec 25, 2024; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) and Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) greet each other after their game at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Over the last couple of regular-season slates and playoff runs, the Kansas City Chiefs have managed to set a new bar for viewership regardless of platform. Whether it be television or streaming, millions of folks around the world are clearly inclined to tune in when Patrick Mahomes and company take the field.

As expected, that was no different in the United States on Christmas Day. Week 17's Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers matchup contributed to an overall U.S. audience of nearly 65 million, according to a recent release from the NFL.

Per the league, the holiday matchup drew in an average audience of 24.1 million people, making it the most-streamed game in U.S. history at the time. The late-afternoon Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans game, fueled by a halftime performance by Beyoncé, soared to new heights with a 24.3 million average and a peak of over 27 million.

Early viewership figures from the Netflix and NFL partnership are pulled from Fast National Live and Same Day data from Nielsen, which also consists of "out-of-home viewing and CBS local market viewing, along with mobile and web data from Netflix and NFL+ mobile viewing from the NFL." Global ratings will be released on New Year's Eve.

Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria describes the day as the "best Christmas gift we could have delivered," and NFL executive vice president of media distribution Hans Schroeder also gave the Christmas Day experience a vote of confidence.

“We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience,” Schroeder said. “Fans in all 50 states and over 200 countries around the world watched some of the league’s brightest stars along with a dazzling performance by Beyoncé in a historic day for the NFL.”

As Kansas City continues its march along a lengthy path to a potential championship three-peat, it only made sense to get the team on streaming for the holidays. With this being just the first year of Netflix's broadcasting partnership with the NFL, it might not be the last time the Chiefs put on a show for the national audience.

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