At Least 65 Million Tune in for Netflix NFL Christmas Day Games

Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo
Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo
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At Least 65 Million Tune in for Netflix NFL Christmas Day Games

Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo
Nov 25, 2024; Inglewood, California, USA; The NFL shield logo on the field at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images/File Photo

LeBron James is going to have to make room for the NFL.

Wednesday's doubleheader on Netflix set records as the most-streamed NFL games in US history, with numbers nearly five times more than the NBA.

The Baltimore Ravens' 31-2 victory over the Houston Texans averaged 24.3 million while Kansas City's 29-10 win at Pittsburgh averaged 24.1 according to early viewer figures released by Nielsen on Thursday.

Nielsen also said there were 65 million US viewers who tuned in for at least one minute of one of the two games, The AP reported.

The NBA's five-game slate averaged about 5.25 million viewers per game across ABC, ESPN and its platforms, according to the league and Nielsen.

“I love the NFL,” James said in his televised postgame interview Wednesday night. “But Christmas is our day.”

While the NBA's Christmas lineup has its best viewer numbers in five years, the NFL has made Christmas one of its tentpole events during the regular season, joining Kickoff Weekend and Thanksgiving.

“The numbers speak for themselves and LeBron can have his own view, and I’m sure more people will look at that because of this," said Hans Schroeder, the executive vice president of NFL Media. "But, you know, we’re focused on the NFL and we’re thrilled with the results this year with the Christmas on Netflix and we’re excited to continue to build that over the next couple of years.”

Both NFL games surpassed the previous mark of 23 million for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs on Peacock.

Viewership for Ravens-Texans peaked with the Beyoncé Bowl. The 20-minute halftime performance averaged over 27 million viewers.

The viewer figures include the audience on Netflix, mobile viewership on NFL+ and those who tuned in on CBS stations in Pittsburgh, Kansas City, Baltimore and Houston.

Global ratings and final US numbers are expected to be available on Tuesday.

The NFL's Christmas numbers decreased from last season, but not at the rate that usually happens when something goes from broadcast to streaming.

Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, averaging 29.48 million on CBS.

Once global and Netflix's first-party data is released, both Christmas games should surpass 30 million.

The NBA's lineup saw an 84% rise over 2023. One reason for the increase is that all five games were on ABC, compared to two last year.

The Los Angeles Lakers’ 115-113 victory over the Golden State Warriors — a game pitting Olympic teammates LeBron James and Stephen Curry — averaged 7.76 million viewers and peaked with about 8.32 million viewers toward the end of the contest, the league said.

Those numbers represent the most-watched NBA regular season game in five years.

The NBA said all five Christmas games on its schedule — San Antonio at New York in Victor Wembanyama's holiday debut, Minnesota at Dallas, Philadelphia at Boston, Denver at Phoenix and Lakers-Warriors — saw year-over-year viewership increases.

Wednesday's numbers pushed NBA viewership for the season across ESPN platforms to up 4% over last season. The league also saw more than 500 million video views on its social media platforms Wednesday, a new record.

For the NBA, those are all good signs amid cries that NBA viewership is hurting.

“Ratings are down a bit at beginning of the season. But cable television viewership is down double digits so far this year versus last year," NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said earlier this month. “You know, we’re almost at the inflection point where people are watching more programing on streaming than they are on traditional television. And it’s a reason why for our new television deals, which we enter into next year, every game is going to be available on a streaming service.”

Part of that new package of television deals that the NBA is entering into next season also increases the number of regular season games broadcast on television from 15 to 75.



Syrian Migrant Drama Opens Berlin Film Festival

 German film director Tom Tykwer (C) pose with German actress Nicolette Krebitz (L) and German actor Lars Eidinger during a photo call for the film “Das Licht“ (The light) in the "Berlinale special" section of the 75th Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, in Berlin on February 13, 2025. (AFP)
German film director Tom Tykwer (C) pose with German actress Nicolette Krebitz (L) and German actor Lars Eidinger during a photo call for the film “Das Licht“ (The light) in the "Berlinale special" section of the 75th Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, in Berlin on February 13, 2025. (AFP)
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Syrian Migrant Drama Opens Berlin Film Festival

 German film director Tom Tykwer (C) pose with German actress Nicolette Krebitz (L) and German actor Lars Eidinger during a photo call for the film “Das Licht“ (The light) in the "Berlinale special" section of the 75th Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, in Berlin on February 13, 2025. (AFP)
German film director Tom Tykwer (C) pose with German actress Nicolette Krebitz (L) and German actor Lars Eidinger during a photo call for the film “Das Licht“ (The light) in the "Berlinale special" section of the 75th Berlinale, Europe's first major film festival of the year, in Berlin on February 13, 2025. (AFP)

German director Tom Tykwer said Thursday that his latest movie about a Syrian immigrant aimed to encourage people to stop "isolating" themselves, as it opened Berlin's international film festival.

"The Light", screening out of competition at the Berlinale, tells the story of a middle-class Berlin family whose lives are upended when they hire a new domestic worker from Syria.

The movie marks a return to feature filmmaking after a long hiatus for Tykwer, 59, who has been focusing on the acclaimed German television series "Babylon Berlin".

In "The Light", the Engels family -- Tim, Milena and their teenage twins -- are all immersed in their separate worlds as they navigate the complexities of modern life.

But when the enigmatic Farrah, recently arrived from Syria, is placed in their home as the new housekeeper, they find themselves slowly starting to reconnect.

"Everyone is in their own aquarium with their head stuck in it," Tykwer said.

"They are stuck with their heads under water and then some energy comes from the outside and pulls them out and enables them look at each other again."

'Extra urgency'

Tykwer said the film aimed to show that better communication can help people to relate personally but also "politically".

"We have to approach each other again and stop isolating ourselves so much," he said.

The Berlinale, which ranks with Cannes and Venice among Europe's top festivals, serves as a key launchpad for films from around the world.

US writer and director Todd Haynes will head up the jury at this year's edition, with 19 pictures vying for the festival's Golden Bear top prize.

Haynes said Thursday that the world was in a "state of particular crisis" and that filmmakers had witnessed the return of US President Donald Trump "with tremendous concern, shock".

Haynes said he hoped the Berlinale, which has a reputation as the most political of the big international film festivals, would serve as a forum for digesting global events.

"This festival has always had a strength of conviction and an openness to a challenging and political discourse and bringing that into the filmmaking, and what's happening in the world right now has put an extra urgency to all of that," he told reporters.

This year's Berlinale winds up on February 23, the same day as a snap election in Germany, called after the collapse of Chancellor Olaf Scholz's governing coalition late last year.

The campaign ahead of the election has been bitterly divisive, with the far-right AfD surging in the polls.

'Resistance'

Last year, Berlinale organizers made headlines by barring five previously invited AfD politicians and telling them they were "not welcome".

Berlinale director Tricia Tuttle said cinema could be an act of "resistance... to all of the perverse ideas that many far-right parties across the whole world and across Europe are spreading".

"This is a space where we want to come together and listen to each other and communicate through cinema... I think the very fact we're all here is a resistance," she said.

Films in competition at the Berlinale include "Dreams", from Mexican director Michel Franco, about a Mexican ballet dancer, and "What Does that Nature Say to You", from South Korean arthouse favorite Hong Sang-soo.

Hollywood director Richard Linklater will present "Blue Moon", starring Ethan Hawke, 11 years after Linklater won Berlin's Silver Bear for Best Director for "Boyhood".

Romanian director Radu Jude, who won the Golden Bear in 2021, is in the running with "Kontinental '25", a dark comedy about the rise of nationalism.

And France's Lucile Hadzihalilovic will present "The Ice Tower", a fantasy drama starring Marion Cotillard.

South Korean director Bong Joon-ho will present out of competition his new film "Mickey 17" with Robert Pattinson, and British actor Tilda Swinton will receive a lifetime achievement award.