YouTube's exclusive rights to the first Friday night game of the NFL season seems to have paid off.

Over 17.3 million football fans watched the exclusive NFL broadcast on YouTube TV last Friday, according to Google (via Variety ). Millions tuned in on the streaming platform to watch the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs (27-21), which was broadcast by YouTube for free.

YouTube won the coveted exclusive rights for the Friday game, which was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil. The game took place on Sept. 5, the day after the NFL season opener on Thursday. YouTube told Variety the 17.3 million stat included 1.1 million viewers outside of the U.S., with 16.2 million views across YouTube and other distribution platforms in the U.S .

Over the past few years, streaming platforms ha

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