Netflix has made a major milestone in its sports deal by partnering with the NFL. The three-year deal will see Netflix broadcast the league’s Christmas Day games, expanding its sports offerings beyond documentaries and live specials about golf and tennis. This year, two NFL games will be globally streamed on Christmas Day, followed by more games in 2025 and 2026.
Netflix’s Chief Content Officer, Bela Bajaria, expressed excitement about the partnership, stating that there are no live annual events that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts. Hans Schroeder, the NFL’s executive VP of media distribution, highlighted the partnership as an opportunity to grow the Christmas Day games globally and attract a larger audience. NFL games are consistently the highest-rated shows on US TV each week, and expanding to a platform like Netflix could help the league reach viewers domestically and internationally.
The deal with Netflix makes the NFL partners with all major US broadcast networks and most major streaming platforms, adding to existing partnerships with Amazon, YouTube TV, and others. This collaboration represents a significant opportunity for both the NFL and the streaming service to leverage each other’s strengths and grow their global audience.
