Jan. 13: Isaiah Pacheco (10) of the Kansas City Chiefs throws the ball against the Miami Dolphins in an NFL wild card game.
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Netflix will live stream NFL games starting this season.
In a deal that changes the sports media landscape, the streaming giant has signed a deal to broadcast the two new NFL Christmas games, which it decided to remove from its schedule earlier this year. Netflix will stream games this year, giving it instant access to the biggest live sports rights in the United States.
And the streaming giant will also receive games in 2025 and 2026, with “at least one game” available for each year. The NFL and Netflix say the deal lasts three years.
“Last year, we decided to go big on live, tapping into the massive fandoms of comedy, reality TV, sports and more,” said Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer. , in a press release. “There are no annual live events, sporting or otherwise, that compare to the audiences drawn to NFL football. We’re excited that NFL Christmas games are only 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,” added Hans Schroeder, Executive Vice President of Distribution NFL media. “NFL Christmas has become a tradition and partnering with Netflix, a service whose biggest day of the year is usually this holiday, is the perfect combination to grow this event on a global scale for NFL fans. NFL.”
Netflix has been somewhat shy when it comes to sports. She has long played in the sports docuseries game (notably with the NFL, via its series Strategist and the next RECIPIENT) and engaged in one-off events like its golf tournament The Netflix Cutand tennis exhibition The Netflix slamas well as the upcoming boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson.
And sure enough, the company made a 10-year, $5 billion deal for WWE. Raw.
With this in mind, leaders have softened their comments on sport in recent months.
Netflix is “not anti-sports but supportive of profitable growth.” And I think that’s at the heart of everything we do in all kinds of programs, including sports. So our goal is to increase engagement, revenue and profits,” co-CEO Ted Sarandos told analysts during the company’s latest earnings conference call on April 18. “And if we find opportunities we could exploit all three of those things, we will.” this through an increasingly wide variety of quality entertainment.
The NFL, for its part, has made no secret of its desire to be as widely available as possible. That means relying on broadcast television, but also partnering with the biggest streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video – which offers Thursday Night Football – and YouTube – which offers Sunday Ticket.
Consistent with its historical practices, the NFL says Christmas Day games will also be available on television in local team markets and on the NFL+ mobile app.
Netflix, as the world’s largest subscription streaming service, would be a feather in the league’s cap and could make the next round of rights particularly interesting.
News Source : www.hollywoodreporter.com
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