The NFL over the last few years has become the new king of Christmas, and that’s not a title the league is looking to relinquish anytime soon.
In an interview with Richard Deitsch of The Athletic, NFL executive vice president for media distribution Hans Schroeder has always taken the approach of finding a way for the league to maximize its opportunities to be the top watch on a holiday. Already owning Thanksgiving, Christmas seemed like the next best holiday to dominate.
“The days where families come together across the country we really believe are opportunities for us to use in a way to help build and celebrate football,” Schroeder said. “So in those years where Christmas falls on a day that we can play NFL games, we think that’s a great opportunity to serve our fans and create a new window that we think they’ll enjoy. I think the number of people who watched shows that they do.”
A tripleheader of games is set for Christmas Day on Monday. Schroeder said the league will absolutely try not to overload Christmas with games if they can help it.
“We think the triple-header really works, but we’ll look at that as we go forward, and we will certainly be mindful of the total games we will be playing in that weekend,” he said.
As for games being played in years where Christmas falls on a Tuesday or Wednesday, Schroeder said fans shouldn’t hold their breath.
“We’re not looking to play football on a Tuesday or Wednesday at this point, especially this late in the year as we get close to the postseason,” he said. “We want to focus on the run to the playoffs and for that competitive equity to really shine through.”
“We’re looking at the days where we’re already playing football and have the opportunity to celebrate something larger on a holiday with a lot of our fans together,” Schroeder added.
