NFL moves Christmas games to streaming service under new deal

Feb 6, 2022; Paradise, Nevada, USA; The NFL shield logo is seen at midfield before the Pro Bowl football game at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The NFL’s Christmas Day games are the latest marquee games to move from broadcast television to streaming under a new deal announced Wednesday.

The league announced it had signed a three-year deal with Netflix to broadcast at least one Christmas game live each season. Netflix will get two Christmas Day games in 2024 as part of the deal.

The NFL did not officially announce which teams will be playing on the holiday this year, but that announcement will come along with the rest of the regular season schedule on Wednesday night.

It was not clear just how much Netflix was paying for the right to carry the games. However, based on what Amazon paid for a Black Friday telecast, it will be a hefty sum.

This marks the latest in the NFL’s bet on streaming services. Amazon already owns the aforementioned Black Friday game, as well as the “Thursday Night Football” package. The league also put a playoff game exclusively on Peacock for the first time last year, though the decision was not terribly popular among fans.

Despite that criticism, the league is doubling down. The NFL can get big money for the rights to these games, and they are betting enough people will care to watch that they will pay for the streaming service if they are not already subscribed. A previous report indicated that the league even delayed its schedule announcement to work out the final details of the Netflix deal, which shows just how serious they are.