Yay, more paywalled NFL football!
The NFL has been pushing the envelope as far as broadcasting some of its games behind a streaming paywall, and now it looks like the league is expanding its streaming horizons even more.
Puck Sports’ John Ourand, a longtime sports media insider, reported that Netflix is closing in on landing the rights to air the NFL’s two Christmas Day games, which will mark the rarity that is Wednesday football. Here’s a snippet of Ourand’s article from beyond the paywall:
It looks like Netflix will wind up carrying the two NFL games scheduled for December 25, per a bevy of sources. Yes, yes, yes, this could all fall apart and all the usual caveats—nothing has been signed yet, and the two sides still have to clear some hurdles before any deal is announced. But Netflix’s emergence as a bidder—and likely winner—is one of the main reasons behind the schedule delay. (For the record, Boomer Esiason was the first one to talk about Netflix’s Christmas plans, on his radio show yesterday morning.)
The NFL already has Thursday Night Football streaming on Prime Video, a London game streaming on ESPN+, and last season saw Peacock get an exclusive regular season and playoff game. All of those games are simulcast on television affiliates in the respective teams’ local markets, but that’s not a big comfort to fans who live outside of those regions.
Netflix has never broadcast live NFL, MLB, NBA, or NHL, but it will be home to the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson circus boxing match in July. It’s no secret that Netflix (and other similar subscription services) are looking to expand into live sports, and the NFL is as coveted as it gets.
There is no free trial for Netflix; the basic ad-supported tier starts at $6.99/month, while higher tiers are as high as $22.99/month.
Seems like all the more reason to hope the Seattle Seahawks don’t play on Christmas, if you ask me!
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