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The numbers are in for the NFL’s debut on Netflix on Christmas Day and two things are certain: We’re talking records and this won’t be the last time the league and streaming service team up beyond its current three-year agreement.

The headline is the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans versus the Baltimore Ravens on Netflix delivered the two most-streamed NFL games in history, with an average audience of over 24 million viewers each.

Bad News For LeBron And NBA

So, LeBron James, who on Wednesday infamously proclaimed that Christmas sports viewing belongs to the NBA, is going to be crying when he sees the numbers.

Christmas was a record-breaking day for Netflix and the NFL, with a total unduplicated audience of nearly 65 million U.S. viewers, according to Nielsen. 

The Ravens versus Texans (24.3 million average minute audience) and Chiefs versus Steelers (24.1 million average minute audience) are the most-streamed NFL games in U.S. history, according to Nielsen. 

The NBA’s games averaged 5.5 million viewers each.

Womp, womp, womp.

HOUSTON, TEXAS – DECEMBER 25: Zay Flowers #4 of the Baltimore Ravens runs the ball after a catch against Kamari Lassiter #4 of the Houston Texans during the first quarter at NRG Stadium on December 25, 2024 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images)

Ravens and Texans Attracted 27 Million Viewers

U.S. viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked with over 27 million viewers, according to Nielsen.

Global ratings and additional U.S. insights will be released Dec. 31 – providing a comprehensive look at Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday performance worldwide.

Ravens-Texans, the second game of the day’s doubleheader, was the most-watched Christmas Day game on record among the 18-to-34-year-old demographic,  with 5.1 million U.S. viewers based on Nielsen records dating back to 2001.

“We’re thrilled with our first Christmas Gameday on Netflix with NFL games being streamed to a global audience,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution in a statement. “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.”

Future For NFL-Netflix Is Bright

This year marked the first of a three-season partnership with Netflix to broadcast NFL games on Christmas Day.

It is now possible several things will happen:

Netflix, which is said to covet more sports coverage to stream live, may attempt to add to its portfolio of games when the NFL next opens bidding on its broadcast packages, per an industry source.

The NFL, which wants to expand its brand worldwide with international games, could now see the global reach of Netflix as another avenue for doing that. And that could eventually mean more games on Netflix.

LeBron James couldn’t have gotten it more wrong.