YouTube announced on Monday that the NFL game’s first exclusive global broadcast broke the company’s record, achieving the most parallel viewers of live streams on the platform. It has over 17.3 million viewers from over 230 countries and territories around the world, in line with the game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers of Sao Paulo.
This number represents the average tiny audience (AMA) that saw the game last Friday. In the US, Nielsen data showed 16.2 million AMAs on YouTube and other platforms, while YouTube’s own figures showed 1.1 million AMAs outside the US.
The exclusive broadcast is part of YouTube’s expansion partnership with the NFL, announced in May at the company’s annual business event. The deal is intended to raise more advertising revenue, and it is likely that the company hopes that the new achievement will be well received by advertisers.
However, when compared to other NFL broadcasts on streaming platforms, viewers are slightly lower than Netflix’s numbers. Netflix’s 2024 Christmas doubleheader averaged over 24 million viewers.
The numbers may seem overwhelming, but YouTube believes its creator-driven viewing experience sets it apart from its rivals. The broadcast features a lineup of popular YouTubers including Deestroing, Mrbeast, Haley Kalil and Marques Brownlee. Karol G also performed the halftime show.
There was a mix of reactions about how people felt about these creators being involved in the broadcast. Some fans enjoyed watching their favorite YouTubers, but others thought the sports commentary was a bit “shitty.”
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