The NFL has already announced that games will be held on Christmas Day in 2024, even though the holiday falls on a Wednesday. Ahead of the NFL’s scheduled release of its schedule in mid-May, information leaked that these games will be played on a new streaming platform for the NFL. Netflix is reportedly hosting NFL games on Christmas Day, according to Pac Sports’ John Uhland..
Netflix will be the third exclusive streaming destination for NFL fans, joining Amazon Prime Video and NBCUniversal’s Peacock.
Adding a paywall is nothing new for the NFL. Since 1987, ESPN has broadcast his NFL on cable television. However, since these games were previously not available to fans of other teams to watch, it was an added benefit as the domestic market was still able to watch the games for free on simulcast TV broadcasts. When the NFL added Thursday night games in 2006, it was also broadcast on cable television, and this time he was broadcast on the NFL Network.
NFL games have been available for streaming as an additional viewing option for several years, but it wasn’t until 2022 that the league began broadcasting games. exclusively on streaming platforms.Amazon bought the rights thursday night football You’ll need a Prime Video subscription to watch those games (unless you’re in the team’s home market).
In 2023, the NFL once again partnered with Amazon to create a new streaming package for its annual Black Friday game. It also expanded its streaming service by adding regular season games exclusive to the Peacocks. Instead of one streaming service and some way to watch ESPN, you now need two streamers.
These changes did not cause any concern among the media or fans. These games weren’t previously shown to viewers, so there wasn’t much of a fuss. Game availability did not decrease. Before games were available on cable or streamed, you wouldn’t have been able to watch them on air on Sundays. Now you had a chance.
That all changed in 2023, when the NFL moved one of its wild-card games exclusively to NBCUniversal’s streaming service, Peacock, saying the move was a good thing for fans. Games that were previously available for free to everyone across the country are now behind a paywall. And it worked. really really well.
Nearly 3 million new subscribers signed up to watch Peacock. kansas city chiefs defeat miami dolphins They didn’t just stay for the free trial, they converted and actually paid money. According to reports, 71% of new subscribers remained with the streaming platform after the playoff games, a monumental win for the streaming service considering NBC’s coverage of the 2024 Summer Olympics will be on Peacock.
Enter Netflix. They have been focusing on live programming since their disastrous broadcast in April 2023. love is blind The reunion special was delayed 90 minutes due to technical issues. Perhaps they’ve since worked things out with smaller live shows. Netflix will become the new home for cable TV’s top live sports events when WWE matches begin in January. monday night raw Move to streaming. It looks like Netflix will be streaming more major sporting events on its service before January rolls around.
This feels more akin to losing in the wild card game than any previous move to streaming or cable. Since the NFL began regular broadcasts on Christmas Day 2020, only one game (a 2021 NFL Network game) has been broadcast exclusively on cable TV, with the remaining eight games being aired free nationwide. The NFL and Netflix are moving games that were previously available for free behind paywalls.
And it stinks. For those looking to cut pennies and cut streaming services from their budgets, this stinks. That’s jarring for NFL fans looking to watch the biggest game leading up to the postseason. The situation is troubling for players as the NFL has given four teams a short break for the second straight week to play on Wednesday.
But on top of that stench is the smell of money. The NFL is always looking for new revenue streams, and Netflix couldn’t be more excited to provide them.
NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has said the NFL will never pay to watch the Super Bowl in his lifetime, but will try to satisfy these new partners by streaming playoff games on streaming services. He did not rule out the possibility of further distribution.
With the Christmas games over, the next broadcast package the NFL will probably sell will be a Sunday morning game against Europe as part of the league’s international series. Some of those games are exclusive to NFL Network, but the league could make more money by grouping those games with new partners. With Disney+ entering the live sports space alongside Netflix this year and the streaming wars heating up, making the field more competitive, it’s only a matter of time before the next deal is finalized.
