Beyoncé entertained more than either game in Netflix’s NFL debut on Christmas Day.
On Wednesday, the 32-time Grammy winner shocked her local Houston audience with an almost 13-minute performance on a white horse.
Fans were astonished when she brought out Shaboozey for “Sweet Honey Buckiin” and Post Malone for “Levii’s Jeans.”
Four of the AFC’s top five teams played in the NFL, but the action was disappointing.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce exploited Pittsburgh’s defensive flaw in Kansas City’s 29-10 first-game win.
According to NFL Media, the broadcast went well and became Netflix’s second-most popular live title.
Before Beyoncé stole the scene, Lamar Jackson and the Ravens lead C.J. Stroud and the Texans 17-2 at halftime. Baltimore won 31-2 with Jackson sitting much of the fourth quarter.
The two-time reigning Super Bowl champion Chiefs defeated the Steelers to win the AFC first seed after Mariah Carey started the football doubleheader with a filmed performance of “All I Want for Christmas is You.”.
After Netflix made minor mistakes in the pregame program, streaming troubles were minimal throughout the game. It looked like studio anchor Kay Adams’ microphone was off, thus the show commenced with 10 seconds of quiet.
The streaming giant’s greatest test, Beyoncé’s live concert at NRG Stadium, went well.
Kelce had eight receptions for 84 yards and one touchdown as the Chiefs (15-1) won a first-round bye and home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs. Mahomes passed for 320 yards and three touchdowns. Three consecutive losses may force the Steelers (10-6) to settle for a wild-card place.
Jackson threw two touchdown passes and ran for one, while Derrick Henry rushed for 147 yards and scored one to help the Ravens (11-5) take over first place in the AFC North, one game ahead of Pittsburgh.
Netflix signed a three-year Christmas Day game deal in May. The NFL should give the streaming service its largest day since 1998.
Netflix distributes NFL games internationally for the first time, streaming them to 282.3 million members in over 190 countries. English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German were Netflix’s game languages.
Netflix experienced trouble streaming the Nov. 14 Mike Tyson-Jake Paul bout. The fight peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, including 38 million US streams. Nearly 85,000 viewers reported outages or streaming issues before and during the fight, according to Down Detector.
Wednesday saw fewer complaints.
NFL Media reported that all 50 states tuned in within minutes of the pregame program and over 200 nations watched the first game. Netflix recorded its most concurrent viewers of any Christmas in four years before the Ravens-Texans game.
The NFL played its first Wednesday game since the Steelers and Ravens had to play on Dec. 2, 2020, due to the COVID-19 epidemic. The only other Wednesday game since 1948 was the 2012 Giants-Cowboys season opening.
Netflix marketed their shows alongside their typical ads. The first “Happy Gilmore 2” teaser trailer debuted before kickoff. The 2025 Netflix sports comedy stars Adam Sandler as Happy Gilmore. A teaser featuring celebrity appearances including Travis Kelce, Bad Bunny, and Kid Cudi.
The NFL debuted on Christmas Day 1971 with two divisional playoff games. From 1972 to 1988, the league played its complete schedule on Saturday if Christmas occurred on a Sunday. Since 1989, Christmas has seen 30 games, never more than three. However, the NFL scheduled two games on Wednesday to fit its $150 million Netflix pact.
The Chiefs-Steelers game was called by Ian Eagle and analyzed by three-time AP Defensive Player of the Year J.J. Watt and former NFL wide receiver Nate Burleson.
“I’m extremely proud of him and also slightly concerned he’s getting close to a lot of my records,” J.J. Watt said of his younger brother to open the show.
Ian’s son Noah Eagle called the Ravens-Texans game, with veteran NFL tight end Greg Olsen as an analyst.
NFL games have broadcast solely on streaming services before. Peacock broadcast the Packers-Eagles game in São Paulo, Brazil, in Week 1 of the third season of Thursday night games on Amazon Prime Video. A wild-card game will also be available. YouTube TV acquired the “Sunday Ticket” bundle last year.
Last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and the Chiefs was Peacock’s largest streamed-exclusive NFL game with 23 million viewers.
