Netflix will celebrate its biggest day since the site launched in 1998 on Wednesday, when it will air two NFL games for the first time.
“NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix” begins with a two-hour pregame show at 11 a.m. before Pittsburgh takes on Kansas City. Baltimore will play Houston in the second game.
The streaming giant agreed to a three-year deal to distribute Christmas Day games in May.
Netflix’s 282.3 million subscribers in more than 190 countries will be able to stream the game, marking the first time a single broadcaster will broadcast an NFL game globally. Netflix will offer the game in five languages: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.
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The game will also be broadcast on CBS affiliate stations in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Houston. NFL policy states that games broadcast on cable or exclusively streamed must also be played on radio stations in competing teams’ markets. For those who own NFL+, it will also be available on mobile devices in the United States.
The biggest reason is money. The league is receiving $150 million from Netflix for two games this season. The NFL’s transition to streaming also continues. Thursday Night Game is in its third season on Amazon Prime Video, and the “Sunday Ticket” package moved to YouTube TV last year.
And the league wasn’t going to give up on Christmas just because of the ratings. The average number of viewers for last year’s three games was 28.68 million. The early afternoon game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way with an average audience of 29.48 million viewers.
This time, the Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens and Texans all played on Saturday, making the game similar to Sunday and Thursday games.
All four have qualified for the playoffs in the AFC, but seeding remains up for grabs.
With a win against the Steelers, Kansas City (14-1) can lock up the top seed, which will be their home field for the entire playoffs with a first-round bye. Pittsburgh and Baltimore were tied for first in the AFC North at 10-5, with the Steelers holding the tiebreaker due to their better conference record.
Houston (9-6) holds the No. 4 seed after finishing in the AFC South.
Netflix hopes so. Brandon League, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports, said the system has been stress tested and has since undergone some testing. Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul match on November 14thalong with their internet service providers, reported being overwhelmed by the surge that occurred before and during the battle.
At its peak, the number of concurrent streams was 65 million, including 38 million concurrent streams in the United States. Nearly 85,000 viewers recorded outages and streaming issues before and during the game, according to the website Down Detector.
Is it possible? yes. probably? no.
The largest audience for a streaming-exclusive NFL game was 23 million viewers on Peacock for last season’s AFC Wild Card Game between the Miami Dolphins and the Chiefs.
Nielsen will measure viewership for games on Christmas Day and early numbers are expected to be released late Thursday afternoon.
Mariah Carey starts the day with a recorded performance of “All I Want for Christmas Is You.”
There’s no word on whether Taylor Swift will be in Pittsburgh to see her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift has been spending time in Kansas City since finishing work. Her record-breaking Elas tour 2 weeks ago.
The NFL plans to host at least two games on Dec. 25 in 2025 and 2026, and Netflix plans to host at least one game each year. Amazon Prime Video will have a Thursday night game next Christmas.
Netflix’s worldwide partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment will begin on January 6th when “Monday Night Raw” moves to the streaming service.
On Friday, Netflix secured a spot in the United States for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cups.
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