Hollywood Week: Netflix/NFL Smash, Beyonce Halftime Show, Jay Z Motion Denied, Greg Gumbel Dies

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Category: Entertainment News

Published on Saturday, 28 December 2024 10:47

Written by Janet Walker

Streaming giant Netflix and the NFL reigned supreme over this holiday, smashing all records on viewership with an estimated audience of 65 million in the United States, tuning in at some point over the two Christmas Day matchups.

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The numbers reported by Neilson ratings and released by the behemoth, on December 26, 2024, were posted on the Netflix X account.  "With an average of more than 24 million people watching each game, Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans are not the top two most streamed NFL games in US history. Viewership peaked with #BeyonceBowl, with over 27 million viewers." These numbers do not include out-of-home, mobile, web and CBS local market viewing.

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The overall numbers may eventually increase, once the total tally is determined as more than 200 countries tuned in at some point during the pro bowl matchup between the reigning Superbowl Champions Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburg Steelers, and the second game between the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans, featuring a halftime show by Houston native Beyonce Knowles Carter.

For the second week in a row, streaming giant Netflix surprised the sports world, last week securing streaming rights, in all languages, for the next two World Cup Women's World Cup soccer finals and this week by proving that streaming live sports can be a game changer in the streaming wars. As Netflix continues its move into the live sports arena, partnering with the NFL and capturing a global audience, will boost interest in various teams and play-off games, and continue Netflix's global dominance.

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Beyonce Halftime Show Dazzles

Houston native Beyonce Knowles Carter provided a spectacular halftime show, as she introduced her Cowboy Carter newly released country album to a record number 27 million viewers. The 13-minute spectacle featured nine songs, several of which have never been performed in public.

Beyonce included Houston newcomers, Tanner Adell, Brittney Spencer, Tiera Kennedy and Reyna Roberts, performing The Beatles classic "Blackbird." Also joining her were Shaboozey on "Sweet Honey Buckin," and Post Malone for "Levii's Jeans." She also sang the Dolly Parton classic, "Jolene," and ended the program, with "Texas Hold 'Em." During the performance of "My House," Beyonce was joined by her daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, who has continued to tour and perform with her mother.

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Jay-Z Motion to Dismiss Denied

Rapper Jay-Z, whose real name is Shawn Carter, and husband to superstar Beyonce Knowles Carter, has lost his motion to dismiss a civil rape case brought by an attorney Tony Buzbee, on behalf of a woman, who has been granted permission to maintain her anonymity, allegedly Jay-Z, along with jailed rap mogul, Sean 'Diddy' Combs, raped her when she was 13 years old.

In her written order, U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres, "chastised Alex Spiro — the lawyer representing Jay-Z, whose legal name is Shawn Carter — for what she described as his "relentless filing of combative motions containing inflammatory language and ad hominem attacks" against the plaintiff's lawyer, calling them "inappropriate, a waste of judicial resources, and a tactic unlikely to benefit his client," CBSnews reported.

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Greg Gumbel, Sports Announcer, Host, Dies

Greg Gumbel, a longtime sports play-by-play announcer, who called many of the biggest games in both professional football and college basketball games, died this week at his home in Florida. He was 78.

In a career that spanned five decades, Gumbel, brother of longtime Today show anchor, Bryant Gumbel, "Mr. Gumbel served as a play-by-play announcer for CBS's National Football League coverage. In 2001, he became the first Black sportscaster in that role covering a Super Bowl. He also covered the National Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament for the network and had spent four years reporting on the American Football Conference for NBC Sports," reported The New York Times.

Gumbel, who passed away from cancer, is survived by his wife, a daughter, and brother.

Janet Walker is the publisher, founder, and sole owner of Haute-Lifestyle.com. A graduate of New York University, she has been covering international news through the Beltway Insider, a weekly review of the nation's top stories, for more than a decade.  A general beat writer/reporter and entertainment/film critic, she is also an accomplished news/investigative news/crime reporter and submitted for Pulitzer Prize consideration "Cops Conspire to Deep Six Sex Assaults" in the Breaking News Category and was persuaded to withdraw the submission. Ms. Walker has completed five screenplays, "The Six Sides of Truth," "The Assassins of Fifth Avenue," "The Wednesday Killer," "The Manhattan Project," and the sci-fi thriller "Project 13: The Last Day." She is a member of the Los Angeles Press Club, the National Writers Union, and the International Federation of Journalists.