Netflix sets viewership record with Lions vs Vikings NFL game

Netflix broke an audience record with one of its matches in the NFL on Christmas Day this year.

The platform broadcast the match live Minnesota Vikings vs Detroit Lionswhich was tuned by 27.5 million viewersaccording to Nielsen analysis, which made in the most watched game in NFL history.

The figure represents the average number of viewers tuned in at any time during the live broadcast, although the most watched moment of the match reached more than 30 million. Excluding the halftime show, Snoop's Holiday Halftime Party, the average audience was 29 million (via Variety).

For comparison purposes, the first NFL holiday games broadcast on Netflix on December 25, 2024, averaged 24.3 million viewers and 24.1 million viewers, respectively, leaving behind this year's Lions-Vikings gamebut ahead of this year's first Netflix Christmas gamethat of Dallas Cowboys-Washington Commanderswhich averaged 19.9 million viewers that same day.

Both games (Lions vs Vikings and Cowboys vs Commanders) were produced by CBS Sports, with NFL Media producing pre- and post-game programming, as well as studio halftime programming. EverWonder Studio executive produced the stream for Netflix.

Between last year's games and this year's Lions-Vikings game, Netflix has become the distributor of the three most-watched streaming NFL games of all time.

EYE ON THE DATA: The figures shared by Nielsen are audience measurements from the United States only.

However, NFL games were available in the 200 countries and territories where the platform is available. According to Netflix datathe party Lions vs Vikings had an average global audience of 30.5 million viewerswith the party Cowboys vs Commanders reaching 22.4 million viewers.

On the same December 25, Netflix debuted Volume 2 of Stranger Things 5the final season of the streamer's popular original series. And although exact figures reached by Volume 2 during Christmas Day were not revealed, it was revealed that it was the most viewed program on the platform on that day, and the series reached 34.5 million views from December 22 to December 28.