Streaming giants have a growing influence on sports broadcasting and sport in general. One of the leaders of this movement is Netflix, who are not only impacting the shape of sports audiences through series like ‘Drive to Survive’, but have started to exert their influence on live sport.
The boxing bout between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, for example, attracted a peak viewership of 65 million households and became the most watched live boxing event of all time. The next chapter in the story of Netflix’s foray into live sport is the NFL Christmas Day slate, which will feature a performance from pop superstar Beyoncé.
It’s part of a wider effort by the NFL to broaden their audience.
Three-year deal
In May this year, Netflix and the NFL announced a three-year deal. Later this month, the streaming giant will broadcast two games on Christmas Day. It will also stream one holiday game in 2025 and 2026.
At the time, NFL media distribution vice-president Hans Schroeder said: “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.”
Global reach
Over 280 million people in 190 countries worldwide have a Netflix subscription. Its massive audience means a live sports deal with the streaming service is an attractive opportunity for sporting organisations, such as the NFL, to grow their fan base.
Further evidence of the NFL trying to expand its fanbase is the league playing games overseas. In 2024, the NFL held two games in London, and one each in São Paulo, Brazil and Munich, Germany. In November, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said the league was looking at playing eight games overseas including in Spain and Ireland for the first time.
Streaming concerns
The livestream of the Paul v Tyson fight was not without its problems. Many viewers experienced buffering or poor image quality. 88,000 reports of streaming issues were submitted to Downdetector. With local and international fans eagerly anticipating the two matches and a live performance from Beyoncé on Christmas Day, Netflix is under pressure to deliver a high-quality broadcast.
How to watch
The Christmas games will take place on 26 December for Australians. The Kansas City Chiefs will play the Pittsburgh Steelers at 5:00am (AEDT) followed by the Baltimore Ravens and Houston Texans at 8:30am (AEDT).
If you’d like to go more in-depth on this topic I recommend listening to the podcast mentioned at the beginning of the article. You can access it via this link: http://lnk.to/0gJYiC
