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Netflix has taken another big step into the world of live sports. The streaming service just struck a deal with the NFL, America's largest sports league, to broadcast two games live on Christmas this year. Games will also be shown on Netflix in future years.

Although Netflix long said it had no interest in live sports broadcasts, it seems to have changed its mind recently. For example, it struck a monster deal with the WWE to broadcast WWE Raw weekly starting in 2025. In addition, the streaming service will soon show the much-discussed boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. By now also betting on American Football, Netflix is showing even more ambition. Especially in the United States, the NFL has no equal in terms of popularity.

The news: Netflix's deal with the NFL includes at least four games. In each case, these are the games from the regular season on Christmas. On Wednesday, Dec. 25, 2024, Netflix will stream two games; in 2025 and 2026, at least one game is involved. It is not known how much Netflix is paying for this deal with the NFL.

What does this deal mean for Netflix?

  • Through this deal with the NFL, Netflix is buying into the most popular sport from the United States. For years, games from the NFL have dominated the list of best-watched broadcasts in the US. Last season, for example, the three games on Christmas drew an average of 28.7 million viewers.
  • This strategy shows Netflix's desire to bet even more on live events. In its own words, these create "cultural moments." In addition to live sports, Netflix has also been focusing on live comedy for some time. The advantage of live broadcasts is that the streaming service can attract more advertisers. With the introduction of subscription advertising, Netflix already decided to tap into this revenue source a few years back.

What does this deal mean for sports fans?

  • Now that Netflix will broadcast at least one game from the NFL every year, it will be even harder for diehard fans of American football in the United States to watch everything. There are not just the television partners who each broadcast their share of games. In addition, with Netflix, Peacock, Amazon and ESPN+, there are now four streaming services that have already managed to acquire some of the rights.
  • An NFL fan who wants to watch all the matches next season in the United States will have to pay $855.86 (787 euros) to do so.
  • All that brings the total annual value of the NFL's rights to more than $11 billion (10.1 billion euros).

© The Content Exchange, source News