17.3 million people watched the NFL season opener for free on YouTube

YouTube is talking about a viewer record. According to the YouTube blog, an average of 17.3 million viewers from 230 countries watched the first live broadcast of an NFL game on the streaming platform last Friday. More than twice as many as the previous record holder, the moon landing of the Indian space probe Chandrayaan 3 in 2023.

Through the cooperation with the National Football League (NFL), YouTube secured the exclusive and worldwide broadcast rights to the match between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers, taking place in Brazil for the first time. Since 2007, the NFL has also held games outside the USA, such as in Munich in 2022

16.2 million viewers came from the USA alone. YouTube gives figures here as "average-minute-audience" (AMA), i.e. the average number of viewers per minute.

Well-known figures in the YouTube scene

YouTube seized the opportunity and engaged some streamers with a wide reach. The Youtuber Deestroying commented on the game from the sidelines, while contributions from Mr. Beast, Haley Kalil and Marques Brownlee formed the interactive supporting program. Not all of them are directly related to the NFL: Mr. Beast, with 433 million subscribers, is known for his curious contests and sweepstakes on YouTube, Marques Brownlee for his technique tests.

Decisive not only on the pitch

Many streamers from Brazil were also involved. Karol G, for example, a singer and YouTuber with over 40 million subscribers, performed during the traditional half-time show.

The recording of the game is available on the NFL's official YouTube channel.

(aki)