Netflix is preparing to stream two NFL games this Christmas Day: the Kansas City Chiefs facing the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Baltimore Ravens squaring off against the Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET. These matchups represent the streaming service's latest foray into live programming for major events likely to attract millions of viewers.
Last year, an average of 28.7 million viewers tuned into one of three NFL games on Christmas Day—the Las Vegas Raiders vs. the Chiefs, the New York Giants vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Ravens vs. the San Francisco 49ers. These games were among the top 25 most-watched TV programs of 2023.
"We couldn't be more excited to be the first professional sports league to partner with Netflix to bring live games to fans around the world," said Hans Schroeder, NFL Executive Vice President of Media Distribution, in a statement.
Before the Ravens take on the Texans, Grammy-winning group Pentatonix will perform the national anthem. At halftime, Beyoncé will take the stage, delivering tracks from her 2024 album "Cowboy Carter" live for the first time, accompanied by special guest appearances.
Netflix's decision to stream NFL games follows a recent attempt to broadcast live boxing featuring Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which was plagued by technical glitches.
Many fans reported issues on social media, including long buffering times and being booted from the stream. According to Down Detector, more than 85,000 viewers experienced streaming problems. One frustrated Florida man even filed a class action lawsuit against Netflix, claiming the broadcast was "unwatchable."
Despite the challenges, the boxing match peaked at 65 million concurrent streams worldwide, marking an unprecedented scale for Netflix.
No comments:
Post a Comment