May 16, 2024
Netflix will stream its first NFL games on Christmas Day, reports NBC News.
The streaming giant announced on Wednesday, May 15 that it will feature both December 25 matchups scheduled for this year, with at least one other Christmas game coming in 2025 and 2026.
“Last year, we decided to take a big bet on live—tapping into massive fandoms across comedy, reality TV, sports. and more,” Bela Bajaria, Netflix chief content officer, said in a statement. “There are no live annual events, sports or otherwise, that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts. We’re so excited that the NFL’s Christmas Day games will be only on Netflix.”
The announcement is a seismic moment in the media landscape—bringing together the biggest streaming platform and the most lucrative U.S. sports league. Terms of the deal were not made public.
The NFL had not yet announced who will be playing on Christmas as of Wednesday morning.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be the first professional sports league to partner with Netflix to bring live games to fans around the world,” Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of Media Distribution, said in a statement. “The NFL on Christmas has become a tradition and to partner with Netflix, a service whose biggest day of the year is typically this holiday, is the perfect combination to grow this event globally for NFL fans.”
The Christmas 2024 games will also air on broadcast TV in the competing teams’ cities and will be available on mobile devices via NFL+.
Netflix has been working to break into live sports, although so far has only hosted one-off events in tennis, golf, and a boxing match between Mike Tyson and YouTube star Jake Paul on July 20. And starting in January 2025, it will be home to WWE’s weekly “Raw” series.
But the NFL games signal Netflix is willing to pay big money to land what remains the most consistent ratings driver in America.
The Netflix deal comes as sports rights across the board change hands—with traditional broadcast companies now increasingly locked into battle with streaming platforms. Notably, the NBA is in intense negotiations for its next media partners, with bids reportedly surpassing $2 billion.
In a world of dwindling returns to traditional TV formats, live sports continue to command reliably large audiences.
Research contact: @NBCNews
