Netflix Will Stream Two NFL Games This Christmas Day
The world's biggest streamer is getting into live NFL games, with two contests on Christmas Day.
Patrick Mahomes and the NFL are bringing a little festive cheer to Netflix this holiday.
You can now add Netflix to the NFL's list of TV partners. On Wednesday, the league announced that starting this year it will be streaming two Christmas Day games on Netflix: the Kansas City Chiefs at the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the Baltimore Ravens at the Houston Texans.
Netflix's deal with the NFL marks its biggest move yet into the world of livestreaming and its most aggressive move into the world of streaming sports. The streaming giant has increasingly been experimenting with live content, including inking a deal with the WWE earlier this year and recently livestreaming its comedy roast of NFL legend Tom Brady. Last year it streamed a live celebrity pro-am golf tournament called The Netflix Cup.
The NFL and Netflix say that this new deal will run for three years, with Netflix guaranteed "at least one holiday game each year." Neither side revealed how much Netflix is paying for the games, but Bloomberg on Wednesday reported that the streamer will be paying the league less than $150 million per game.
With the addition of Netflix, the 2024 NFL season will now air on a variety of networks and streaming services. Fans looking to watch all the action will need traditional TV channels that include CBS, Fox, NBC, ESPN, ABC and the NFL Network, as well as streaming services Peacock, ESPN Plus, Netflix and Amazon's Prime Video.
As with the games that it airs on streaming services like Peacock, ESPN Plus and Prime Video, the league says that Netflix's Christmas games will also air live on broadcast networks in the playing teams' local markets, as well as stream on mobile devices through the league's NFL Plus streaming service.