Week one of many 2025 NFL season is within the books, and YouTube is touting the wholesome outcomes of its first unique gridiron broadcast. The platform’s protection of the Brazil-set tilt between the Kansas Metropolis Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers drew an average-minute-audience of 17.3 million, in line with information from Nielsen.
That was a sufficiently big viewership whole to set a brand new report for the most-watched dwell stream in YouTube historical past. A YouTube rep confirmed that the viewership quantity contains YouTube and YouTube TV, native over-the-air distributors for in-market groups, and NFL+.
By NFL requirements, nonetheless, YouTube’s visitors was pretty pedestrian. The opening sport of the 2025 slate, which passed off the night time earlier than YouTube’s broadcast, hauled in a Nielsen score of 28.3 million throughout NBC networks and Peacock. In 2024, the typical NFL broadcast reached 17.5 million viewers, although that season’s Brazil sport had 16% fewer viewers than YouTube’s unique.Subscribe to get the newest creator newsSubscribe
So from a scores perspective, YouTube was proper on the cash. The Google-owned platform proved that it might deal with NFL-sized viewership with out encountering main technical hiccups ( you, Netflix). The improved outcomes over final yr’s Brazil sport might pave the way in which for future NFL exclusives on YouTube.
YouTube’s viewers could have been typical NFL visitors, however the broadcast itself was removed from unusual. The on-air crew supplied an eclectic mixture of media personalities, retired soccer gamers, and creators, with MrBeast’s introductory video setting the tone from the primary minute of the stream. Normally, the protection felt looser and extra irreverent than a typical NFL broadcast. Derek Carr did his Jon Gruden impression throughout pre-game evaluation, Cam Newton stole the present at halftime with a ridiculous outfit, and Deestroying roamed the sidelines to supply a fan’s perspective.
When you’re a fan of YouTube and its neighborhood of homegrown creators, segments like that one felt like applicable homages to the host platform. YouTube attracts a few of its disruptive energy from its skill to peel again the curtain and provide a extra private connection between entertainers and followers, so it felt proper that YouTube’s tackle an NFL sport concerned human cannons, iShowSpeed commentary, and ad-libbed moments.
As becoming as that method could have been, it wasn’t for everybody. Specifically, MrBeast’s outsized presence drew the ire of many soccer followers. In broadly shared posts on X, the printed’s semi-regular throws to MrBeast have been in comparison with force-feeding and different types of torture. Extra astute critics questioned whether or not creators like MrBeast and iShowSpeed possess sufficient ball data to make significant contributions to an NFL broadcast.
YouTube might have restricted the creator cameos, however then its NFL protection would really feel the identical as what you’d get on another community. In different phrases, the platform is caught in the identical tug-of-war that has been a part of its identification from its early days to the current: It should work out how one can strike a stability between creators and conventional celebrities, even in circumstances when these two broad fanbases don’t overlap. Hopefully, YouTube will get extra possibilities to seek out the right combination on future NFL exclusives.
As for the sport itself? Justin Herbert led his Chargers to an upset win over the Chiefs. Herbert has collabed with creators himself, so perhaps the YouTube neighborhood has extra in frequent with the sport of soccer than the haters appear to assume.
