YouTube's first global exclusive NFL game draws 17.3M viewers

YouTube’s first exclusive global broadcast of a regular season NFL game drew an average minute audience of 17.3 million viewers worldwide on Friday, the streaming platform said, as the Los Angeles Chargers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 27-21 at Corinthians Arena in São Paulo, Brazil. Nielsen reported 16.2 million of those viewers were in the United States, while YouTube said another 1.1 million tuned in from outside the U.S., and the company called the telecast the most concurrent viewers ever for a live stream on its platform.

NBC Sports handled production of the broadcast, with Rich Eisen on play-by-play and Kurt Warner providing color commentary. YouTube built the telecast around a creator-driven approach, offering multiple alternate feeds and watch-along streams hosted by popular creators including Deestroying, IShowSpeed, MrBeast, Marques Brownlee and others. A halftime performance by Colombian pop star Karol G and a lineup of pregame and postgame analysts that included Cam Newton and Derek Carr were also part of the presentation.

On the field Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert threw for 318 yards and three touchdowns and scrambled for a crucial first down late in the game....