By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer
Netflix and the NFL announced a three-year deal Wednesday to stream games on Christmas Day.
The streaming giant will have both games this year and at least one game in 2025 and ’26.
“Last year, we decided to take a big bet on live — tapping into massive fandoms across comedy, reality TV, sports and more,” Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer, said in a statement. “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.”
Netflix began airing NFL programming last year with the series “Quarterback.” A series on wide receivers will premiere this year.
Netflix began airing live sports last year, but they were exhibition events in golf and tennis. It is also slated to air the July 20 bout between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul and next year will start carrying World Wrestling Entertainment’s flagship show, “Raw.”
The NFL has played a total of 30 games on Christmas Day since 1971, including three last year. It has stayed away from midweek games, though, until this year.
In keeping with the NFL’s longstanding policy on games that are carried on cable or streaming platforms, Netflix’s Christmas games will air on broadcast TV in the competing teams’ home cities and will be available on mobile devices in the U.S. with NFL+.
