Beyoncé and Netflix are set to make Christmas Day history with a day of live programming that includes two NFL football games and a halftime performance in Houston, Texas, where the 32-time Grammy Award winner was raised.
The “Cowboy Carter” performer teased the performance with an Instagram video that seems to show a streaming error as she’s playing banjo — a spinning red circle in the middle of the screen gives the impression the video is encountering a buffering error. After five seconds, Beyoncé snickers and the ad for Wednesday’s 4:30 p.m. game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans continues.
Netflix is also showing a 1 p.m. contest between the Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers.
While both games are expected to be competitive, the big day also features a high-tech sideshow. Netflix is known for streaming recorded programs, but is new to carrying live events viewed by millions. The platform encountered glitches last month when it aired a highly anticipated boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
That event attracted 108 million live viewers globally and was touted as “the most-streamed global sporting event ever,” according to Variety.
Taylor Swift fans will have to wait and see it the popstar makes an appearance in Pittsburgh, where her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s Chiefs will be in action against the Steelers. That early game is expected to kickoff with a taped performance by Mariah Carey, who performed a Christmas show in Brooklyn after bouncing back from a bout with the flu.
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