Considered the global leader in audience measurement, data, and analytics, Nielsen announced that December 25, 2024, set a new milestone as the most-streamed day of television in U.S. history.
This historic record was fueled by Netflix’s exclusive live streaming of two NFL Christmas Day games, which not only delivered unprecedented viewership for the platform but also contributed to the broader achievement of over 51 billion viewing minutes in a single day (51,218,510,400 to be exact). This marks the first time in Nielsen’s measurement history that streaming surpassed the 50 billion-minute threshold. Streaming represented nearly half of all TV consumption on Christmas Day (49.5%).
The second most-streamed day ever recorded came shortly after, on January 11, 2025, coinciding with Prime Video‘s NFL Wild Card round game, underscoring the growing influence of live sports on streaming platforms.
While the NFL led the charge, a diverse lineup of both new originals and beloved classics captured viewers’ attention across multiple platforms. Prime Video, Hulu, Max, Disney+, Peacock, and Paramount+ all secured spots in the Top 15 programs for the day. Netflix dominated the chart with multiple entries, including Red One, Carry-On, Virgin River, and The Six Triple Eight. Holiday staples like Elf, A Christmas Story, and Home Alone continued to resonate with audiences, proving that timeless classics remain strong competitors alongside new content.
“This is a Christmas story of how all streamers are finding success balancing new and evergreen programming,” said Brian Fuhrer, SVP of Product Strategy 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.”
Top Streaming Programs on Christmas Day 2024:
- NFL Game 2, Ravens-Texans (Netflix) – 2,978.3 million minutes
- NFL Game 1, Chiefs-Steelers (Netflix) – 2,978.1 million minutes
- Red One (Prime Video) – 517.8 million minutes
- Carry-On (Netflix) – 333.2 million minutes
- Elf (Hulu/Max) – 299.1 million minutes
- Virgin River (Netflix) – 261.6 million minutes
- A Christmas Story (Max) – 253.1 million minutes
- Home Alone (Disney+) – 247.4 million minutes
- How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Peacock) – 246.9 million minutes
- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (Hulu/Max) – 246.8 million minutes
(Note: Out-of-home and digital viewing were excluded from Netflix NFL games, which would have added approximately a 40% lift.)
Nielsen continues to lead in streaming TV measurement with products like the Nielsen Streaming Top 10, The Gauge, and the Media Distributor Gauge. Recent innovations include expanding Out-of-Home (OOH) measurement to cover 100% of the U.S. contiguous television population and gaining accreditation for Big Data + Panel measurement, marking significant advancements in audience tracking and analytics.