Puck News' serial sports-media scoop getter John Ourand reported that a "bevy of sources" has confirmed that Netflix is close to a deal with the NFL to stream multiple Christmas Day games on its platform.
The story was first reported Wednesday by former NFL quarterback turned CBS Sports Network radio broadcaster Boomer Esiason, who suggested the reason the NFL pushed back its 2024 schedule announcement to May 15 was to accommodate the Netflix news.
"Do not be surprised if the NFL and Netflix get in bed," Esiason said, "for nice little Christmas Day football games. I would not be surprised."
Neither the league or the streaming giant have confirmed this report. And it's unclear as to whether Netflix is negotiating for an exclusive window..
Notably, Netflix, which has nearly 270 million subscribers globally was able to generate around 6.2 million hours of viewing and 2 million account views on its global platform Sunday for the premiere of the The Roast of Tom Brady, which featured more than few retired NFL legends.
The NFL, meanwhile, charged NBCUniversal $110 million to break off one post-season Wild Card game for a Peacock streaming exclusive back in January.
The NFL is currently spreading its TV rights up between Fox, Paramount Global, NBCU, Amazon and Google.
It's not clear as to how Netflix would ramp up the infrastructure for a couple of one-off game presentations ... presuming that such a deal would be "one-off."
Boomer Esiason says “Do not be surprised if the NFL and Netflix get in bed for a nice little Christmas Day football games.” pic.twitter.com/WFytWNOIunMay 8, 2024
