There’s a reason streaming services are willing to pay top dollar for NFL games. They deliver subscribers.
Netflix is the latest data point to support this theory. According to a new report by data research firm Ampere, Netflix saw its largest customer acquisition spike of 2025 for its Christmas Day NFL doubleheader. Per the report, Netflix amassed about 430,000 new subscriptions for its NFL games last month (which also coincided with a new season of Stranger Things). Per Puck’s Julia Alexander, it’s the third-largest spike in subscriptions Netflix has had since Ampere began tracking such data in 2018.
Netflix’s Christmas NFL games delivered the platform’s largest US sign-up peak of 2025. NFL (plus Stranger Things) drove ~430,000 new US subs — third-largest acquisition surge since Ampere started tracking (2018).
Live events drove 60% of standout sign-up peaks across all major… pic.twitter.com/HvWFeohuDN
— julia alexander (@loudmouthjulia) January 20, 2026
As the graph above suggests, live sporting events drove the vast majority of sign-up spikes throughout the year. The second-highest spike of 2025 came from the Canelo Alvarez-Terrence Crawford fight in September, with the third-highest being the Jake Paul-Anthony Joshua bout. WWE events round out the other biggest spikes of the year.
Across the industry, streaming services are turning to sports to drive signups. Alexander notes that live events drove 60% of all “peaks” in signups across subscription streaming services. Comparatively, scripted series accounted for just 10% of such peaks. Sporting events accounted for 85% of the live-event portion of subscription peaks.
Netflix pays a reported $150 million annually for its Christmas NFL doubleheader, and it’s data like this that makes the company believe such an investment is worthwhile.
The streamer is clearly making a more concerted effort to build out its sports division this year. Netflix has already hired former ESPN anchor Elle Duncan to serve as the “face” of its sports enterprise. And this year will be the first in which Netflix will air MLB Opening Day and the Home Run Derby. Next year, the streamer will have its biggest sports undertaking to date as it exclusively streams the Women’s World Cup.
For a company like Netflix, holding onto live sports is likely more about subscriber retention than it is about subscriber acquisition. Netflix already has about 90 million subscribers between the United States and Canada, far surpassing the number of households currently subscribed to a pay TV bundle in the U.S. (about 65 million). The addition of live sports to the streamer’s portfolio makes subscribers less likely to cancel, especially as it continues to add properties to fill out its calendar.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.