In a teaser for her much-anticipated NFL Halftime Show performance, Beyoncé made a subtle reference to Netflix’s recent buffering issues during live events. This comes more than a month after the streaming giant faced widespread complaints during the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul fight broadcast, which trended with hashtags like #NetflixCrash and #Buffering.
The teaser, released on Christmas Eve, shows Beyoncé sitting on a football field. As a football rolls towards her, the camera pans to reveal her wearing a floral shawl, a sparkling top, a round hat, and sunglasses. She strums a banjo to the tune of her song “Texas Hold ‘Em.” When she removes her sunglasses, the camera zooms in on her face, and the screen briefly freezes—appearing to buffer. Beyoncé then laughs and winks at the camera. The teaser ends with the text: “Halftime show this Christmas, Houston, TX.”
In an Instagram post, Beyoncé shared the teaser and wrote, “I’m sending you big joy and love on this Cowboy Christmas Eve. I’ll see y’all tomorrow, in my city HTX.”
In November, Netflix and the Houston Texans announced that Beyoncé would headline the Christmas Day halftime show during the Texans’ game against the Baltimore Ravens at NRG Stadium. This marks a key moment in Netflix’s push into live events, following its previous ventures like Chris Rock and Joe Rogan’s stand-up specials, The Netflix Cup golf tournament, The Netflix Slam tennis event, and a “Love Is Blind” Season 4 reunion special.
The Netflix broadcast of the Tyson-Paul fight in November faced significant issues, with many users complaining about buffering. Viewers posted GIFs of pixelated video and joked about Netflix’s IT department struggling to keep up.
Netflix responded to the teaser with a tweet saying, “LOADING…BEYONCÉ. NFL Halftime Show – Ravens vs. Texans. Kickoff at 4:30 PM ET. Tomorrow on Netflix. #NFLonNetflix.”
The Christmas Day NFL doubleheader on Netflix also includes the Chiefs vs. Steelers game, with Mariah Carey opening the broadcast with a pre-recorded performance of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.” Netflix’s chief content officer, Bela Bajaria, told Variety that the company has “learned a lot” from previous live events and is “ready for the NFL and Beyoncé.”
Following the halftime performance announcement, StubHub reported a significant spike in ticket sales—nine times higher than the previous day. Hotels.com noted a 110% increase in hotel demand in Houston.
Beyoncé, who has previously headlined two Super Bowl halftime shows—Super Bowl XLVII in 2013 and Super Bowl 50 in 2016—has not performed live since October 1, 2023, the final date of her Renaissance World Tour.
