Netflix will stream National Football League games on Christmas Day for the next three years in a true first step toward live sports.
The streaming platform will air two games on Christmas Day this year, followed by at least one game in both 2025 and 2026, the league announced Wednesday. Games will continue to be available on TV in local team markets and on the NFL+ mobile app.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but Netflix plans to pay $75 million per game, according to a person familiar with the matter. Spokespeople for the NFL and Netflix declined to comment.
Streamers hire their own announcers for their games and partner with existing production companies. Sarandos told CNBC that he felt the NFL was the best fit because it fits the streamer’s event strategy and allows Netflix to effectively own the day.
Netflix has been captivating viewers with its sports programming, from the documentary “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” to its “Quarterback” series, which follows NFL signal callers. The company has made significant strides in live programming, signing deals to stream WWE’s Raw and the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul boxing match, but it has yet to find a live sports rights strategy that works for it. suggested.
Sarandos said in December 2022, “I still don’t see a path to profitability for major sports rentals.”
“We’re not anti-sports, we’re just pro-profit,” Sarandos said.
Netflix is currently set to stream games from the most-watched US sports leagues, but this comes at a time when Netflix is raising subscription prices, pushing users toward memberships in ad inventory, and cracking down on password sharing. trying to increase profits.
Games could make Netflix a big draw for advertisers. According to Sports Media Watch, the average audience for the three NFL games on Christmas Day last year was 28.68 million.
The Christmas Day matchup could serve as a marketing boost for Netflix before “Raw” begins airing in January.
The streaming giant’s foray into live events hasn’t been without its problems. During a live reunion event for the popular reality show Love Is Blind in April 2023, a technical glitch delayed the stream for more than an hour, at which point the show was no longer live. Ta.
The announcement comes as streamers across the industry are increasingly interested in live sports programming, especially the NFL.
In January, NBCUniversal’s Peacock aired the NFL Wild Card Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Miami Dolphins, marking the first time a playoff game was broadcast exclusively on a streaming service. AmazonPrime Video has already acquired exclusive rights to next season’s NFL playoff games.
Amazon also signed a media rights deal with the NFL in 2021, agreeing to pay about $1 billion annually and gain exclusive rights to Thursday Night Football for 10 years starting with the 2023 season. The deal marked the first time a streaming service would exclusively distribute a full package of games.
Netflix may also be considering expanding into basketball. CNBC reported last year that Netflix, like Amazon, appleYouTube TV, and Comcast’s NBCUniversal/Peacock have all held preliminary discussions with the National Basketball Association about possible interest in media rights should the league strike a deal. Walt Disney and warner bros discovery It will end next season.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
— CNBC’s Alex Sherman and Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report
