Global streaming giant Netflix is set to bid for rights to Sunday afternoon games from American football’s NFL, one of its senior executives has revealed.
Bela Bejaria, chief content officer at Netflix, said in a recent media interview: “I definitely want the Sunday (afternoon) games,” when asked which set of NFL domestic rights she would like to see Netflix go after.
Go deeper with GlobalData
During the recently-concluded 2024 NFL campaign, Netflix held exclusive global rights to a Christmas Day double-header – the Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans, and the Kansas City Chiefs vs Pittsburgh Steelers. These rights were secured – through a three-season partnership – last May, and the games represented Netflix's first-ever live NFL coverage.
The Ravens’ 31-2 win over the Texans drew an average audience of 24.3 million, while the Chiefs’ 29-10 victory over the Steelers attracted 24.1 million. The NFL claimed that almost 65 million viewers worldwide tuned into Netflix's Christmas Day coverage overall.
Domestic rights to the Sunday afternoon games, meanwhile, are held by the Fox and Paramount media heavyweights and have been since the 1990s.
Although these deals run through the 2033 campaign, the NFL can pull out of the agreement with four years still to run, it has been reported.
Any major deal between the NFL and Netflix could potentially result in one of the 32-team league’s current domestic broadcast partners – Fox, Paramount, ABC/ESPN, and Amazon – missing out on rights during the next cycle.
The major sports property already has a weekly streaming deal for its Thursday Night Football slot, with the Amazon Prime Video service.
Netflix’s NFL coverage was the streaming giant's biggest sports offering as it continues to step up its live rights showing.
Earlier this month, it was reported that the streaming platform is looking at snapping up the next set of broadcast rights in the US for motor racing's top-tier Formula 1 (F1).
Netflix is looking to capitalize on the fact that the exclusive negotiating period between incumbent US rights-holder ESPN and F1 – for a potential renewal – has now ended.
In December, meanwhile, Netflix struck a US deal to cover the next two editions of soccer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031.
The streamer is also now covering World Wrestling Entertainment action every week, through a 10-year, $5-billion, global deal for the WWE Raw show, which got underway last month.
