When Netflix swooped in and stole a pair of Christmas games from the NFL’s existing partners, Netflix had one small problem.
It has no in-house capacity to produce football broadcasts.
Now, it does.
According to Joe Flint of the Wall Street Journal (via Sports Business Daily), CBS Sports will produce the two games to be broadcast by the streaming powerhouse on December 25.
It’s a one-year deal. CBS will receive a production fee and promotional spots during the games, for its own programming.
The arrangement doesn’t apply to on-air talent. Netflix reportedly will make that decision at a later date.
Whoever it is, the NFL will have to be on board with it. That’s one of the many things that came through clearly in reviewing the transcript of the Sunday Ticket trial. The NFL has high standards as to the broadcasting of its games — higher than the NFL was able to meet with its own in-house broadcasts of Thursday Night Football.
The NFL decided to put two games on Christmas this year (Chiefs at Steelers, Ravens at Texans) after initially insisting there would be none, since the holiday falls on a Wednesday. The NFL changed its mind, but opted for only two games this year, not three.