Will weekly NFL games on Netflix become a thing?
The NFL and Netflix already have a deal to broadcast games on Christmas, but what if the streaming giant becomes a regular on Sundays? At least one executive has that level of ambition.
Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s chief content officer since early 2023, recently spoke about a wide range of topics in a Q&A with Matt Belloni at Puck.news. Among them was the advent of the NFL on Netflix, which streamed two games this past Christmas Day. Netflix announced on Dec. 31 that, according to Nielsen data, the games had an “unduplicated audience” of almost 65 million people. That added up to what Netflix described as a “record-breaking day” for both themselves and the league.
So, naturally, one would expect that Netflix will look to expand beyond just the two Christmas games. Bajaria tried to dismiss the idea initially during the Q&A, but admitted that if the opportunity presents itself, the NFL on Netflix would become a weekly event.
Here’s the exchange in question:
Q: In five years, will Netflix air a weekly NFL game? And because the answer is obviously yes, which NFL package will you steal from a rival?
A: I say the answer is no, because the rights are already tied up.
Q: No, there are opt-outs in less than five years.
A: If the answer is yes, then I definitely want the Sunday afternoon games.
The “opt-out” referred by the interviewer isn’t until 2029, when the league can end its current media rights deal that includes CBS, FOX, NBC, ESPN, and Amazon, the latter of which streams “Thursday Night Football” for Prime Video subscribers. The contract would run through 2033, otherwise. So, Netflix realistically would have to wait at least four more calendar years before grabbing a slice of the weekly NFL pie.
Netflix has been expanding its reach into live programming in recent years, most notably with the hit roast of Tom Brady and the acquisition of the broadcasting rights to WWE’s flagship Monday night program, “WWE Raw.” It hasn’t been a 100% smooth transition – “Raw” had its first extended technical difficulties less than a month after its debut – but that’s not going to stop anyone at Netflix from adding to its live offerings anytime soon.
As for the Christmas NFL games, elements of the broadcast like the scorebug drew mixed reviews from fans. But ultimately, the question isn’t really the final product on the screen. A big issue still facing the rise of streaming live events is the clunky nature of flipping between different apps and inputs on TVs, and not to mention paying for an increasingly tangled web of subscriptions. Until these companies come together with a solution to make it an all-around easier viewing experience for fans, the road to streaming sports will be a rocky one.
But Netflix certainly isn’t backing away from the NFL. If anything, it’s coming for more.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
