The NFL and Netflix are doing a justified victory lap after the Christmas Day streaming doubleheader. First and foremost, the stream worked. Second, the NFL pocketed $150 million. Third, the NFL has lured another major player to the table for the next round of broadcast negotiations.
It nevertheless came with a cost. While 24.1 million watched Chiefs-Steelers and 24.3 million tuned in for Ravens-Texans, how much larger would the audience have been on a traditional network?
In 2023, 28.68 million viewers watched Raiders-Chiefs on CBS. Giants-Eagles attracted 29.02 million on Fox. And Ravens-49ers drew 27.61 million on ABC/ESPN.
Would the 2024 Christmas games have cracked 30 million? Maybe. For the league, however, it made more sense to grab a $150 million windfall — and to add another potential broadcast partner to the mix. It’s a multibillion-dollar game of musical chairs, and it always helps the league to have one more interested network than available packages.
With an early-morning European package inevitable, someone will be plunking down huge money for that. Current packages could be reshuffled. It will continue to be a blend of broadcast, cable, and streaming.
And it will continue to mean many monies for the men and women who own NFL teams.
