Netflix announced Wednesday that it will broadcast two NFL games live on Christmas Day.
The streamer's new deal with the NFL also includes rights to holiday games in 2025 and 2026.
“Last year, we decided to make a big bet on live, leveraging a wide range of fandoms across comedy, reality TV, sports, and more,” Bela Bajaria, Netflix's chief content officer, said in a statement. said. “No live annual event, sports or otherwise, can match the crowd that NFL football draws. We're so excited that the NFL's Christmas Day game will be available exclusively on Netflix.”
The deal with Netflix is the latest in a series of deals the league has made with streaming services to grow its audience, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to Peacock, NFL officials are partnering with companies such as Amazon Prime Video for Thursday Night Football and YouTube for Sunday Ticket.
Thanks to a new deal, soccer fans will have to subscribe to yet another streaming service to access every match.
What does the NFL-Netflix deal mean for the future of streaming sports?
According to an interview with NFL NetworkMike North, the NFL's vice president of broadcast programming, said Amazon's hosting of Thursday Night Football “has performed very well, comparable to broadcast networks.”
In other words, partnering with streaming services seems to be working out well for the league.
Regarding the deal with Netflix, Hans Schroeder, NFL vice president of media distribution, said in a statement: ”
He added, “The NFL at Christmas has become a tradition, and partnering with Netflix, a service that typically marks this holiday as the biggest day of the year, is a great way for NFL fans to grow this event globally.” It's the perfect combination.”
Streaming TV has become popular due to its convenience, but as previously reported by Deseret News, the rise of sports on streaming services has made it more popular among fans who have to search multiple platforms to watch games. There is dissatisfaction. Managing them all can be confusing.
But the NFL continues to expand into other streaming services, as evidenced by its deal with Netflix.
Is streaming ruining sports?
According to a 2022 article in The Atlantic, streaming has lost some of its former luster, due in part to sports-related developments.
When sporting events were only broadcast on traditional TV stations, cable companies at least offered bundles with all the channels you needed. As it stands, the article states that both cable and streaming services have to be maintained, adding to the costs and headaches.
“Everyone thought[streaming]was going to be the future,” former Fox Sports vice president Patrick Crakes told The Atlantic. “It's cheap and you can choose anything. Of course not, because you can't get all the content in one place at an effective price. So it's sold all over the place, fragmented, and expensive. ”