YouTube’s exclusive rights to the inaugural Friday night NFL game of the season have yielded impressive results. Last Friday, more than 17.3 million football enthusiasts tuned in to the exclusive NFL coverage on YouTube TV, as indicated by Google (via Variety). Countless fans watched the Los Angeles Chargers triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs (27-21) in a game that was streamed for free by YouTube.

YouTube acquired the exclusive rights for the Friday match, which occurred in Sao Paulo, Brazil, on Sept. 5, just one day following the NFL season opener. YouTube informed Variety that the audience of 17.3 million comprised 1.1 million viewers outside the U.S., with 16.2 million views across YouTube and various distribution platforms within the U.S.

In recent years, streaming services have invested significant sums in securing broadcasting rights from the NFL for the duration of the football season. Amazon Prime possesses the rights for Thursday Night Football, while YouTube has the Sunday Night ticket. Other matches are broadcast by Netflix, NBC’s Peacock, traditional channels like ESPN and Fox, among others, resulting in an intricate schedule that necessitates multiple subscriptions, potentially becoming expensive for viewers. Furthermore, fans require additional subscriptions to access all out-of-market NFL games.

Mashable’s Tim Marcin calculated last year that streaming fees to view all the 2024 NFL games would total $891.36.

Although the Friday match was free, YouTube was marketing its Sunday Night ticket. This subscription, which streams regular-season games aired on Fox and CBS, is priced at $85 per month (or $276 for the full season). Professional football undeniably represents a significant industry, as demonstrated by the substantial viewership.

In contrast, Amazon reported an average of 12.3 million viewers for its Thursday Night Football broadcasts throughout the season, according to Variety.