Netflix is reportedly taking the NFL to Australia. The streaming giant will air the Week 1 matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Sept. 10, from Melbourne Cricket Ground, according to The Athletic.
What We Know: Kickoff happens at 8:35 p.m. ET on Thursday September 10 with NBC reportedly expected to handle production. The game bookends Netflix’s growing NFL relationship, which began with two Christmas Day games and continues through this coming December. With the NFL officially releasing its 2026 schedule either next week or the week after, networks are beginning to receive game assignments. That includes an additional four-game package ESPN surrendered as part of the league’s 10% acquisition of the network earlier this year.
What They Said: The NFL nor Netflix has commented on the reporting. However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hinted at the attraction of working with streaming platforms to air NFL contests in a recent Vanity Fair profile.
“88 percent of our games, roughly, are on broadcast television. The other 12 percent are on platforms that are incredibly widely distributed. People are already there. Netflix is not a small distribution. In fact, you can make an argument it’s bigger than some of the networks.”
What Remains Unclear: The opening game of the season may be set. But that game isn’t part of the four-game package that ESPN gave up. In regards to Netflix, no announcers are announced for the broadcast despite NBC’s ties to the game. Last year’s broadcast teams stretched across networks for work on Netflix. Ian Eagle, Noah Eagle, Drew Brees, and Nate Burleson were just some of the names that participated. If all holds similar to last season, both the Los Angeles and San Francisco markets will have local television options for viewing.
What It Means: Make no mistake about it. The NFL is in the business of giving primetime national games to streaming platforms. This past off season, the league placed the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers on Prime Video. They also aired their first game on YouTube for free to a global audience. Recent comments from Commissioner Goodell signal that expansion is not slowing down anytime soon. It will be interesting to watch and see if any of the network partners of the NFL re-negotiate their media rights agreements this off season because of pressure to losing inventory to streamers with bigger checks to cut.
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John Mamola is Barrett Media’s sports editor and daily sports columnist. He brings over two decades of experience (Chicago, Tampa/St Petersburg) in the broadcast industry with expertise in brand management, sales, promotions, producing, imaging, hosting, talent coaching, talent development, web development, social media strategy and design, video production, creative writing, partnership building, communication/networking with a long track record of growth and success. He is a five-time recognized top 20 program director in a major market via Barrett Medi’s Top 20 series and has been honored internally multiple times as station/brand of the year (Tampa, FL) and employee of the month (Tampa, FL) by iHeartMedia. Connect with John by email at John@BarrettMedia.com.
