Netflix’s NFL debut began on Christmas Day without a hitch.
Mariah Carey opened Wednesday’s doubleheader with a taped performance of “All I Want for Christmas is You” before Patrick Mahomes, Travis Kelce and the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs took on Russell Wilson, TJ Watt and the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Houston Texans will host the Baltimore Ravens in game two as the NFL features four of the AFC’s top five teams.
Netflix agreed to a three-year deal in May to stream the Christmas Day games. The streaming giant is expecting one of its biggest days since the site launched in 1998.
Netflix’s 282.3 million subscribers in more than 190 countries can stream the games, marking the first time an NFL game has been distributed globally by an outlet. Netflix has the games available in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese and German.
Netflix had trouble streaming the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul on November 14. The fight peaked at 65 million simulcasts, including 38 million simulcasts in the United States. According to the Down Detector website, nearly 85,000 viewers reported issues with cuts or streams before and during the fight.
There were no signs of trouble early Wednesday during the game after a pair of errors during the pregame show. The broadcast began with about 10 seconds of silence because it appeared that studio host Kay Adams’ microphone was not on.
The biggest test should come at halftime of the Ravens-Texans game when Beyoncé performs live at NRG Stadium.
According to NFL Media, viewers in all 50 states tuned in within minutes of the pregame show airing and viewers in nearly 200 countries watched kickoff begin.
The NFL will play its first games on Wednesday since the Steelers and Ravens were forced to play on December 2, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The only other time the league played on a Wednesday since 1948 was in 2012, when the Giants and Cowboys met in the season opener.ddd