It seems that the bidding wars for NFL broadcast rights are heating up again. Netflix and Amazon Prime have been involved in ongoing negotiations with the NFL for two new games to be played on Christmas Day, and while Netflix seemed to have things wrapped up a few days ago, a comment made late Monday night by NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk shed new light on the status of the negotiations:
“There’s industry buzz that Amazon is making a strong push to win the rights to one or both of the December 25 games, after it appeared that Netflix was poised to pilfer the Christmas games.”
Netflix Determined to Enter NFL Arena
https://gty.im/1237870797
Netflix has been spending more and more on sports content, producing multiple sports-centric shows like Quarterback, Full Swing, and F1: Drive To Survive. They also have committed $5 billion over ten years to WWE, for Monday Night Raw and other weekly shows and special events. This deal is set to commence in 2025, with Netflix paying WWE $500 million per year, nearly twice what NBC Universal has been paying for the content.
Live football would be a logical jump for Netflix, given the tremendous success of their other live offerings, including the recent roast of NFL great Tom Brady. Negotiations have been ongoing between Netflix and the NFL, and it seemed that Netflix had both of the new Christmas Day games locked up. But, a new bid by Amazon Prime and the appearance of a “mystery bidder” have shaken things up in the past few days. According to Florio:
“Keeping the games with an existing broadcast partner could be wise for the NFL,” Florio added. “With a variety of networks and streamers committed through 2029 at a minimum, the idea that the NFL would claw two games from the 272-game slate in 2024 and sell them to an outside entity was ruffling feathers.”
Who is the Mystery Bidder?
https://gty.im/1246973221
The most likely candidate for the new “mystery bidder” would be Google’s YouTube TV. While all three streaming giants have seemingly bottomless pockets, YouTube TV already has a deal with the NFL for Sunday Ticket, which allows subscribers to view most, if not all, of the NFL games broadcast on Sunday. NFL Sunday Ticket has been a huge subscription driver for YouTube TV, and their numbers will only grow as more and more households give up on traditional cable.
What’s at Stake?
Apparently, the bids for the rights to each Christmas game are around $100 million, but it’s unclear how high they’ve gone at this point. Considering that combined viewership for the Thanksgiving double-header was 33.4 million last year, all three streaming behemoths are surely drooling at the prospect of Christmas Day games. There is also a possibility that the games could be split between services, which would not be ideal.
Netflix would seem to have the most to lose if they don’t win the rights, considering that they are the only streaming giant not to have a broadcast deal with the NFL. Amazon Prime has also seen tremendous success and increases in viewership after taking over Thursday Night Football for $11 billion in 2021.
Final Thoughts
https://gty.im/76799437
As the NFL and its schedule continue to be fragmented and diluted by streaming services, it will be interesting to see how this deal works out. While many people (such as myself) choose to have YouTube TV and various streaming services as opposed to traditional cable, there are still millions of older and/or less technocentric viewers who stand to miss out on a number of games, to which they used to have access over air or cable.
There has been an overall push by the NFL to capture a younger audience, and this is a step in that direction, no matter which streaming service wins the contract. There is a paradigm shift away from broadcast television and towards streaming, and the NFL is clearly determined to stay ahead of the curve.
For More Great Content
Check out all the great content Total Apex Sports has to offer. Check us out on X @TotalApexSports and our other sites: Total Apex Sports Bets and Total Apex Fantasy Sports. Follow Andrew Lazzara on X – @Andrew_Lazzara. To see more of Andrew’s work, click here.
