Netflix is making its push into live streaming events with a surprise three-season deal with the National Football League (NFL). The streaming giant is taking a step out of its comfort zone with the deal, as it has historically avoided the sports streaming business.
As part of the agreement, the platform will stream two Christmas Day games: the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Kansas City Chiefs and the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Houston Texans.
Last season, CBS, Fox, and the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) all had the rights to air a Christmas game. However, the NFL changed its plans for 2024 by putting the Christmas games up for bid, which is how Netflix scored the rights.
Netflix will reportedly pay under $150 million per game, according to Bloomberg. While the NFL deal is a first for Netflix, it continues the league’s streaming strategy to expand game rights to new providers.
Amazon started exclusively streaming Thursday night games on its Prime service in 2022. In January, NBCUniversal broadcasted an NFL playoff game on Peacock, marking the first time in the league’s history that a streaming service was granted exclusive rights to a playoff game. The company attracted 23 million viewers while paying a hefty $100 million for the rights.
Sports rights have become important differentiators for media giants as consumers start to switch platforms more frequently. Sports content is “sticky” meaning that loyal audiences are more likely to stay with their streaming service if they have access to sports compared to other types of content.
The importance of live offerings has led Netflix to add not only NFL games but also pro wrestling and comedy specials, a key component in the company’s overall live TV strategy.
In January, the media giant secured a multibillion-dollar, 10-year contract for the exclusive rights to stream World Wrestling Entertainment’s flagship weekly show, “Raw.” In March, it announced plans to stream a live boxing match between Mike Tyson and social media influencer Jake Paul.
