Considering the size of the platform, the NFL’s debut on YouTube was a highly anticipated one.
But despite getting a strong matchup between the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs, the rating for the event proved to be solid, albeit unspectacular.
According to YouTube, Friday’s AFC West showdown in Brazil drew 17.3 global viewers, including 16.2 million in the United States. Despite the game airing on YouTube, Nielsen tracked its viewership, just as it did when the NFL debuted on Netflix with last year’s Christmas Day doubleheader and previous games on Peacock.
The 16.2 million U.S. viewers marks an increase from last season’s Friday night Week 1 showcase on Peacock, with the matchup between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers drawing 14.2 million viewers. It’s worth noting, however, that changes in Nielsen’s tracking has led to higher ratings for sporting events in 2025 and that any comparison between last season and this one isn’t necessarily a fair one.
To further put Friday’s Chargers-Chiefs rating into perspective, it trailed last year’s Netflix doubleheader (24 million), but was also in line with the second most-watched Thursday Night Football game on Amazon’s Prime Video during the 2024 season. Both of those services, however, are behind paywalls, while the YouTube game was free for anyone with access to the app.
All things considered, it was a strong rating for a primetime NFL game, but also not the paradigm-shifting number that some suspected the league’s debut on one of the world’s biggest platforms might draw. Some of that might speak to the lack of promotion surrounding the game, as well as the possibility that the NFL’s audience isn’t as familiar with YouTube as a platform for live events as it had hoped.
With the NFL-ESPN deal leaving four games available to be sold each season and a looming media rights deal at the end of the decade, it’s plenty possible this will only be the starting point for the league’s relationship with YouTube. As such, it will be interesting to see what both entities take from Friday’s debut and what it means for both their individual and joint strategies moving forward.