Report: Netflix on verge of landing 2 big NFL games
Feb 1, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; The NFL shield logo is seen at midfield at SoFi Stadium. Super Bowl LVI between the Los Angeles Rams and the Cincinnati Bengals will be played on Feb. 13, 2022. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The NFL will once again play games on Christmas Day next season, and a new provider could be carrying the action.
John Ourand of Puck reported on Thursday that the NFL is nearing an agreement with Netflix for the league’s two Christmas Day games in 2024 to be broadcast on the streaming service. Ourand said the “two sides still have to clear some hurdles” but that his sources believe a deal will get done.
The NFL schedule was initially supposed to be released on May 9, but that has been delayed until May 15. Ourand says the negotiations between the NFL and Netflix are the primary reason the schedule release was pushed back.
Three NFL games were played on Christmas Day last season, and they were carried by FOX, ESPN and ABC. Those games were on a Monday. With Christmas falling on a Wednesday in 2024, there was some question about whether the NFL would want to have games in the middle of the week. Money talks, of course, and Netflix could pay as much as $100 million to carry the Christmas Day games.
Amazon paid a massive sum for the NFL’s first ever Black Friday game last season, which was also considered a success. It seems like only a matter of time before Netflix gets a piece of the pie.
