On Christmas day, the NFL outshined the NBA games in terms of viewership and made history. But is what we see really the truth? Many analysts are asking the same question to the NFL, Netflix, and Roger Goodell.

According to the reports, NFL games on Netflix on December 25, reached 65 million viewership in the US. But as per some reports, there is allegedly something fishy. As per Mike Florio’s ProFootballTalk on X, “The 65 million “reach” figure being pushed by the NFL and Netflix for the Christmas Day games is as phony as a football made of cake — and those pushing that number without context or scrutiny should know it.” Well, everything seems fine with the 65M viewership. But Florio asked the league to dig deeper. How?

It all started when NFL insider Adam Schefter shared that the NFL on Netflix made history as per Nielsen. It stated that both the games streamed—Ravens vs Texans and Chiefs vs Steelers—each earned an average audience of over 24 million viewers. But here’s the catch.

Sharing the same information, Analyst Michael Mulvihill of FOX Sports on X wrote, “FWIW the widely-reported reach of 65 million for the historic, record-shattering Netflix doubleheader is down -20% from last year’s 81.4 million for Christmas games on CBS and Fox.” According to Florio, when Netflix and the NFL dropped their numbers for the Christmas Day games, the excitement was palpable. But as the details unfolded, the truth became clearer.

The 65 million viewers they touted weren’t as impressive as it sounded. It seemed like a big win at first, but when compared to last year’s 81.4 million viewers, the drop was hard to ignore. There was a 16.4 million Netflix discrepancy. Yes, the reality is that the 24.2 million average audience for the two 2024 games on Netflix was nearly 15% lower than the three Christmas games on traditional TV the year before.

Hence, the NFL veteran analyst thinks the NFL and Netflix pushed this “reach” number to create a bigger-than-life impression, but it was misleading. Many in the media took that number at face value, without digging deeper into what it actually meant. But when you look closer, the story changes.

That’s the reason, Florio asked the media to be smarter, questioning these flashy numbers before spreading them. As per him, it’s all part of a game – find the biggest number, lead with it, and hope it sticks. But the truth is the real numbers tell a different story. Anyway, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, doubled down to bring the NFL to the table of the fans on Christmas.

Is it all for the NFL fans by Roger Goodell?

For the past five years, the NFL has claimed Christmas as its own, turning the holiday into a football spectacle. This year, the league took it up a notch – Chiefs vs. Steelers and Ravens vs. Texans. And for the first time ever, the games streamed on Netflix, making history. But this isn’t about the holiday spirit. It’s about numbers.

Commissioner Roger Goodell earlier said it very loud and clear–“We go where the fans are. I don’t ask permission for that. We’re going to find a way to satisfy that.” Hence, how could Goodell have resisted his thought? That’s the reason he pulled out two important games on the holiday. And guess what? Besides the viewership thing, the Chiefs even made history, becoming the first team in nearly a century to play on six different days of the week in one season.

The Chiefs had games on all the holidays – Black Friday, Thanksgiving, and ultimately Christmas. Well, the New York Yankees were the last NFL team to achieve that (they existed just for 4 seasons though, 1926-29). They did it in the 1927 season, as they played on all days, except Monday.

It’s clear now that the NFL is making sure that football stays front and center. Like it or not, the league has definitely made Christmas part of its playbook, challenging the NBA games.