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Netflix closes three-season deal with the NFL and will broadcast two games this year
Netflix (NFLX) has won broadcast rights to two National Football League (NFL) games to air on Christmas Day, the company announced in a post on Xold Twitter, Wednesday morning.
It’s a surprising development, given that the streaming giant has previously said it wanted to avoid investing in live sports content.
The dual matchups will be announced once the NFL releases its full schedule on Wednesday night. The company will pay less than $150 million per game, according to Bloomberg.
In addition to this year’s games, the company also revealed that it will broadcast at least one holiday game per year as part of a three-season deal.
“Last year, we decided to make a big bet on live – taking advantage of the huge number of fans of comedy, reality shows, sports and more,” said Bela Bajaria, chief content officer at Netflix. said in a press release. “There are no annual live events, sporting or otherwise, that compare to the crowds that NFL football attracts. We are very excited that the NFL Christmas Day games will only be on Netflix.”
Netflix had previously stated that it wanted to focus on “sports entertainment” instead of paying for live sports rights, which can be expensive for media companies. In the past, the company has released documentaries and sports content such as “The Quarterback”, “Formula 1: Drive to Survive”, “Full Swing” and “Break Point”, as well as live sporting events such as the “Netflix Cup”, a celebrity golf, which aired late last year.
A recently announced partnership seemed to deviate from that status quo. In January, Netflix announced a 10-year contract with TKO Group Holding’s WWE (technical KO) that will bring WWE’s flagship program Raw, a live wrestling production, to the streaming service starting in 2025.
But at the time, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the show’s inclusion did not signal a change in its overall sports strategy, describing the deal as “unique” compared to the global sports rights of professional leagues like the N.B.A. or the UFC.
Wall Street analysts and industry observers have long predicted that Netflix will eventually be forced to go all-in on sports, describing live sports as streaming’s last frontier amid a deteriorating cable bundle.
“Eventually, we expect Netflix to move into live sports, especially as it expands [free cash flow] generation and has the ability to invest in leading sports rights around the world,” Morgan Stanley said in a report published last June. “Additionally, as its advertising capabilities grow, we believe live sports will fit well in its content offering.”
The story continues
US Kansas City Chief football players Patrick Mahomes (R) and Travis Kielce (L) arrive for the premiere of the Netflix documentary series “Quarterback” at the Tudum Theater in Los Angeles on July 11, 2023. (CHRIS DELMAS/AFP via Getty Images) (CHRIS DELMAS via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the NFL recently began adding more streamers to the list of partners with exclusive rights to its games.
Including the Netflix deal, the league now has exclusive partnerships with four streaming platforms for the upcoming 2024/25 season: NBCUniversal’s Peacock (CMCSA), which will broadcast the Green Bay Packers’ week one matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil; Disney’s ESPN+ (DIS), which will hold an international game; and Amazon Prime Video (AMZN), which will host a wild card playoff game this year in addition to its Thursday Night Football package.
As a reminder, Google’s YouTube TV (GOOG, Google) has the exclusive rights to NFL Sunday Ticket, which makes out-of-market games available to fans across the country. Sunday Ticket can be purchased as an add-on package on YouTube TV or as a standalone à la carte service on Primetime YouTube channels.
Sports rights have become increasingly important to media giants as more consumers cut the cord. Content is seen as “sticky,” meaning loyal audiences are more willing to shell out their monthly cable or streaming service fee to access sports over other types of content.
Alexandra Canal is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on X @allie_canal, linkedin, and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com.
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