The 49ers-Rams game from Australia pulled in a solid 21.7 million worldwide viewers for Netflix, a number that’s got the streaming giant pretty hyped, even if the game itself was a total dud. We’re talking 18.5 million domestic viewers and another 3.2 million watching internationally for a game that wasn’t exactly a nail-biter.
Netflix Numbers Are Good News Despite a Boring Game?
Look, the 18.5 million U.S. viewers for this international showdown matched the YouTube audience for last year’s Chiefs-Chargers game in Brazil. But here’s the kicker: YouTube was a free stream, and Netflix is a paid service! That makes these numbers a win for Netflix, especially since those YouTube figures were widely called “disappointing” at the time. Plus, the foreign audience this year, at 3.2 million, was actually bigger than last year’s free YouTube international viewership. The Netflix number even blew past the 2025 Thursday night average viewership on Amazon by more than three million viewers. That’s a pretty big deal for their first foray into these big-ticket NFL games.
The 49ers’ Slow Suffocation and What It Means for Future Streams
It’s tough to get hyped for a game when the action isn’t there, and this one certainly wasn’t. The 49ers “slowly suffocated” the Rams in a 27-7 beatdown. It was competitive in the first half, sure, but after that, it was just a long, drawn-out goodbye for the Rams. That kind of unexciting play usually means viewership takes a hit. Think about it: Week 1 excitement generally brings bigger numbers, and a non-competitive game from halfway across the world probably didn’t help. We’ve seen bigger, too, like when those two NFL games last December on Christmas averaged 23.7 million U.S. viewers. But still, the fact that Netflix pulled these numbers for a paid service and a less-than-thrilling matchup shows the power of the NFL.
Netflix isn’t done yet, either. They’ve got four more games streaming this season, with the next one coming up in November on the night before Thanksgiving. After that, they’ll be back for two Christmas games, meaning we’ll get more chances to see how these numbers stack up. Will more competitive games bring even bigger audiences? You gotta think so.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Pro Football Talk.
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