Christmas 2024 was the most-streamed day ever

NFL games on Netflix and Christmas-themed movies helped make Christmas the most-streamed day in history, according to Nielsen.

Christmas Day is a great opportunity for streaming services to reach viewers. Everyone is at home, and there are plenty of lulls throughout the day that provide a perfect chance to turn on the TV. Nielsen found that was especially true in 2024; the TV ratings firm has revealed that Christmas Day 2024 was the most-streamed day since it began tracking streaming services, and almost every top service got in on the action.

Key Details:

Streaming accounted for 49.5% of all TV watched on Christmas.
NFL games on Netflix drew the most viewership on Christmas Day.
Disney+, Hulu, Prime Video, and other streamers all had titles in the top 15 for the day.

Nielsen’s data shows that streaming services combined for more than 50 billion viewing minutes on Christmas day. That was good enough to account for 49.5% of all TV watched during the course of the day; for comparison, over the month of December, streaming accounted for 43.3% of all TV viewing.

Netflix was the biggest winner of the day with its NFL doubleheader. The Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans was the top programming event of the day, no doubt aided by the “Beyonce Bowl” halftime show that accompanied the game. The Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers game was the second-most-watched show of the day, and each attracted nearly 3 billion viewing minutes in total.

Netflix wasn’t the only streamer to benefit from the large streaming audience on Christmas, however. Disney+, Hulu, Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Prime Video all had movies or shows crack the top-15 list of programs watched over the course of the day. Amazon’s original Christmas movie “Red One” was streamed for more than 500 million minutes on Christmas, and the list is replete with other Christmas-themed titles. See those titles for yourself in the chart below.

“This is a Christmas story of how all streamers are finding success balancing new and evergreen programming on streaming,” said Brian Fuhrer, SVP at Nielsen. “While live football was the highest profile and most-viewed, the diverse slate of original and classic shows and movies really resonated with audiences.”
Streaming services may not be quite ready to wipe broadcast and cable TV off the map for good, but the medium’s dominance over other forms of TV continues to be reinforced. The data that Christmas Day was the most-streamed day in history is just the latest example.