NFL, Netflix Announce 3-Year Contract to Stream Christmas, Holiday Games on Schedule

Netflix announced Wednesday that it reached a three-year deal with the NFL to stream Christmas Day games on its platform.

Henry Goldblatt of Netflix noted that the streaming service will be home to both of the NFL's Christmas Day games in 2024, and at least one Christmas Day game in both 2025 and 2026 as well.

This year's matchups will feature the Kansas City Chiefs facing off against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens clashing with the Houston Texans:

Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria highlighted the importance of landing NFL games as part of Netflix's recent efforts to expand its live sports coverage, saying:

"Last year, we decided to take a big bet on live—tapping into massive fandoms across comedy, reality TV, sports, and more. There are no live annual events, sports or otherwise, that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts. We're so excited that the NFL's Christmas Day games will be only on Netflix."

For years, Netflix primarily relied on movies and shows that viewers could watch at any time, but a clear attempt has been made to become a player in live sports and entertainment, much like other streaming services such as Prime Video and Peacock.

Before striking a deal with the NFL, Netflix landed the right to stream the upcoming boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul and signed a 10-year deal to stream WWE Monday Night Raw starting next year.

In terms of how the NFL benefits from the Netflix agreement, NFL Executive Vice President of Media Distribution Hans Schroeder said:

"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. The NFL on Christmas has become a tradition and to partner with Netflix, a service whose biggest day of the year is typically this holiday, is the perfect combination to grow this event globally for NFL fans."

Schroeder had initially announced that no games would be played on Christmas Day in 2024 since it falls on a Wednesday, but the decision was made to adjust since Christmas games typically pull in huge ratings.

Per Goldblatt, each of the NFL's three Christmas Day games last year ranked among the 25 most-watched television events of the year, including the Chiefs vs. Las Vegas Raiders game, which pulled in the NFL's best viewership for a Christmas game since 1988.