Netflix confirms exclusive Christmas Day deal with NFL

Netflix has taken a slightly bigger step than hitherto into the world of live sports by signing a deal with the NFL to exclusively stream the American football league’s two Christmas day marquee games this year.

Netflix will stream the Super Bowl LVII-winning Chiefs vs Steelers and Ravens vs. Texans.

Netflix has also signed up to stream at least one holiday game each year in 2025 and 20-26 as part of a three-season deal.

The move into live streaming of games – albeit in a limited way – follows Netflix collaboration with the NFL around its service Quarterback last year, with another NFL-themed factual series, Receiver, set to premier this summer.

The latter follows NFL stars Davante Adams (Raiders), Justin Jefferson (Vikings), George Kittle and Deebo Samuel (of the 49ers), and Amon-Ra St. Brown (Lions) through the 2023 season.

“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,” said Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria.

“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,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL EVP of media distribution.

NFL releases its schedule

The announcement with Netflix comes as the NFL released its long-awaited full schedule of games. A delay in the release of the schedule had fuelled speculation about the imminent deal with Netflix.

Netflix has previously focused its sports efforts on documentary programming and celebrity-focused live specials.

A number of commentators have observed that the addition of Netflix takes the number of services required to watch all NFL games to seven – YouTube TV (for Sunday Ticket), Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, ESPN+, NFL+ and Netflix. NFL games are also aired on network TV.