Over the last several seasons, the NFL has expanded its reach across various media platforms through broadcast deals with linear and digital outlets. Ahead of the official release of the 2024 NFL schedule on Wednesday night, Netflix signed a three-season deal to gain exclusive rights to stream at least one NFL Christmas Day game each year. Coming to terms on a deal marks the first time the company has license rights to present live football, which will commence with two games on Christmas Day this year. Nielsen Media Research data calculated the NFL as representing 93 out of the top 100 most-watched television broadcasts in 2024.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be the first professional sports league to partner with Netflix to bring live games to fans around the world,” Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, said in a statement. “The NFL on Christmas has become a tradition and to partner with Netflix, a service whose biggest day of the year is typically this holiday, is the perfect combination to grow this event globally for NFL fans.”
Netflix, which recently announced that it had approximately 269.6 million paid subscribers in Q1 2024, is reportedly paying $150 million for both games in the 2024 season. CBS Sports televised the early afternoon matchup on the holiday last year between the Kansas City Chiefs and Las Vegas Raiders, which averaged 29.2 million viewers. This represented the most-watched Christmas Day game in 34 years and was up 29% year-over-year from the comparable game that took place the year prior.
The prime-time matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers averaged 27.1 million on ABC and ESPN+, marking the second most-watched Monday Night Football game in 27 years. Both games superseded the average Christmas Day viewership across the five-game NBA schedule that day, which averaged 2.85 million viewers across ESPN and ABC.
Over the last several years, Netflix has forayed into sports-related programming through docuseries, competitions and other related events. The company recently held The Roast of Tom Brady, which featured various former teammates and personnel making jokes about the former NFL quarterback and seven-time Super Bowl champion. Brady was introduced as the analyst within the lead broadcast booth for FOX Sports at the company’s Upfront event in New York City earlier in the week.
Moreover, Netflix plans to broadcast a boxing matchup between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul taking place in July from AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas. Additionally, the company was involved in production of the sports docuseries Quarterback that premiered last July and will soon release Receiver, the sequel to the venture. Netflix itself will hold an Upfront event on Wednesday night in New York City where it is expected to reveal its forthcoming programming slate.
“Last year, we decided to take a big bet on live — tapping into massive fandoms across comedy, reality TV, sports and more,” Bela Bajaria, Netflix chief content officer, said in a statement. “There are no live annual events, sports or otherwise, that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts. We’re so excited that the NFL’s Christmas Day games will be only on Netflix.”
The NFL will feature several games exclusive to streaming outlets, including a Friday night Week 1 matchup between the Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles from São Paulo, Brazil on NBCUniversal’s Peacock outlet. Amazon Prime Video will embark on its third year of presenting Thursday Night Football games coming off a year in which the property averaged 11.86 million viewers across its 13-game schedule. The company presented the first Black Friday football game broadcast last fall and is reportedly expected to stream a matchup during the NFL Wild Card round during the NFL Playoffs.
As a whole, the NFL regular-season schedule of games averaged 17.9 million viewers per game across all networks, the best result in the category since 2015 and up 7% compared to the previous year. The year ended with a record-setting Super Bowl broadcast from Paramount Global that averaged 123.7 million viewers, measured by Nielsen Media Research to be the most people watching the same broadcast in television history.
