New on Netflix: live NFL games from next year
Under a three-season deal, it will stream at least one holiday game on Christmas Days in 2025 and 2026
ROME – Netflix announces that on December 25, 2024 it will be the global home of the two Christmas NFL (National Football League) games, and that with a three-year agreement seasons will stream at least one holiday game on Christmas Days of 2025and 2026.
Netflix has been working with the NFL for a couple of years now, starting with the hit seriesQuarterback in 2023. This summer, the docuseriesReceiver will premiere on Netflix and will follow five of the NFL’s best receivers through their 2023 seasons on and off the field: Davante Adams (Raiders), Justin Jefferson (Vikings), George Kittle and Deebo Samuel (of the 49ers), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions).
“Last year we decided to make a big bet on live, drawing on huge communities of fans from genres such as comedy, reality, sports and more,”he says >Bela Bajaria, Chief Content Officer at Netflix.“There are no annual live events, sporting or otherwise, whose audiences can compare to those attracted by the NFL. We are so excited that Christmas Day NFL games will only be on Netflix.”
“We couldn’t be more excited to be the first professional sports league to partner with Netflix to bring live games to fans around the world,” saysHans Schroeder, Executive Vice President of Media Distribution of the NFL.“The NFL at Christmas has become a tradition and partnering with Netflix, a service for which the most important day of the year is typically this holiday, is the perfect combination to grow this event globally for NFL fans”.
The NFL will announce its full 2024 schedule, including Christmas Day matchups, on NFL Network, NFL.com and the official NFL app at 8:00 PM ET today (2:00 PM CET on the 16th May).
The NFL launched Christmas games in 1971 before bringing them back on a semi-regular basis in 1989. Since 2020, they have been a staple of the winter holidays, with last year’s three Christmas games, ranking among the top 25 most watched TV programs of 2023; the Raiders vs. Chiefs (attended by Taylor Swift and Santa Claus) drew its largest crowd since Christmas Day 1988. In total, the NFL held 30 Christmas contests. In keeping with the NFL’s long-standing holiday tradition, Netflix Christmas Day games will air on TV in participating teams’ cities and will be available on U.S. mobile devices with NFL+.
