The partnership brings together the largest streaming platform with the most lucrative sports league in the US
Get ready to spend your Christmas with Netflix as the streaming giant announced yesterday its roughly $150 million deal to feature the league’s Christmas Day games this year.
The NFL has a history of Christmas Day games, with only 30 matches since its inception and one game every year since 2020. This year, the Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Kansas City Chiefs in one of the matchups and the Baltimore Ravens at the Houston Texans home. Both matchups will stream exclusively on Netflix.
The streamer will also air the NFL holiday games for the next two years. The matches will be available on broadcast TV in the teams’ cities and on mobile devices via NFL+.
The partnership is significant, as it brings the largest streaming platform with the most lucrative sports league in the US together. Last year’s Christmas NFL games saw an average of about 28 million viewers tune in on linear TV.
The deal underscores the evolving landscape of sports broadcasting, with traditional networks facing competition from streaming platforms.
A symbiotic partnership
The NFL is also looking to loop in younger audiences who don’t have cable TV. The league has made broadcasting deals with Amazon Prime Videos, ESPN+ and Peacock.
The deal also signals Netflix’s strategic shift towards live sports broadcasting. It is a major sports announcement from the streamer since its $5 billion WWE deal in January.
In an era of changing media consumption habits, the agreement between the NFL and the entertainment giant highlights the enduring popularity of live sports that continues to attract large audiences.