YouTube said its first-ever global stream of a live NFL game last Friday drew a total audience of 17.3 million people, including 1.1 million outside of the U.S.
The average minute audience numbers for the Los Angeles Chargers – Kansas City Chiefs contest were a bit lower than a conventional NFL game on domestic broadcast. But for the league and YouTube, the game in Brazil represented a significant milestone as the first being available for free to a worldwide online audience.
The U.S. numbers came from Nielsen, while YouTube self-reported the tune-in everywhere else.
The Chargers upset of the Chiefs came in well ahead of a stream last year of a game in Brazil hosted by NBCUniversal’s Peacock, which drew 14.2 million viewers. Netflix holds the record for the most popular NFL tel