Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) owned YouTube streamed its first exclusive NFL game on Friday, Sept. 5.
Here's a look at the viewership figures and how they compare to other streaming companies like Netflix Inc (NASDAQ:NFLX) and Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
YouTube Scores Hit, Fails To Break Records
Alphabet is one of the key media rights partners with the National Football League for the 2025 season. After partnering with the NFL on Sunday Ticket, Alphabet landed its first exclusive game for its YouTube video platform.
On Friday, YouTube streamed the opening week matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers. The game was won by the Chargers 27-21 in a thrilling match featuring AFC West divisional rivals and two of last year's playoff teams.
YouTube said that it averaged 17.3 million global viewers during the game's broadcast, as reported by Variety.
The figure included 16.2 million average viewers on YouTube and other distribution platforms in the U.S. and 1.1 million average viewers outside of the U.S.
The NFL game was watched by viewers in more than 230 countries and territories. A pregame broadcast averaged 2.4 million viewers in the U.S. with postgame coverage averaging 5.9 million viewers in the U.S.
YouTube pays a reported $2 billion per year for the rights to Sunday Ticket. The video platform charges $276 for a full-year of Sunday Ticket or $85 per month for monthly plans during the season.
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How YouTube Compares To Other NFL Streamers
Expectations were high for the YouTube broadcast as the video platform has billions of monthly active users. The game also featured the NFL fan favorite Kansas City Chiefs, who were one of the top teams for viewership last season.
YouTube failed to break streaming records that have fallen in recent years. Netflix broke the NFL's streaming record last season, averaging 24 million viewers across two games. The games averaged 24.3 million (Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans) and 24.1 million (Kansas City Chiefs, Pittsburgh Steelers). Netflix said at least 65 million people watched a portion of the two games on Christmas Day 2024.
The record from Netflix surpassed a record from Peacock, a streaming platform owned by Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA). Peacock was the exclusive home of a 2023 NFL Playoff game, averaging 23.0 million viewers.
Amazon has secured rights to "Thursday Night Football" games from the NFL dating back to 2021. After averaging 9.58 million viewers during the 2021 season, the ecommerce's Prime Video streaming platform has shown gains in viewership.
In the 2024 NFL season, Amazon Prime Video averaged 13.2 million viewers for its "Thursday Night Football" games, up 11% year-over-year.
Amazon aired an exclusive 2024 NFL Playoff game between the Baltimore Ravens and Pittsburgh Steelers, averaging 22.1 million viewers. This fell shy of the past two records.
When it comes to NFL streaming, Netflix reigns supreme with its two 2024 games. The streaming giant will try to break its own record with two more games during the 2025 NFL season, also on Christmas.
Comcast Nears Record In 2025 NFL Debut
Outside of streaming, Comcast had the rights to the first game of the 2025 NFL season and nearly set a record.
The opening game between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles averaged 31.9 million viewers across NBC and Peacock before a weather delay lasting 65 minutes saw viewers leave. The game was on pace to be the most-watched NFL Kickoff game ever.
Viewership peaked at 34.3 million viewers in the second quarter, the highest peak audience for an NFL Kickoff game.
Counting the entire length of the game, including the period after the weather delay, Comcast reported an average audience of 28.3 million viewers. Among opening games, this trails only the 29.2 million average audience of last year's game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.
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