Netflix is making history on Christmas Day, as it’s set to broadcast two live NFL games for the first time. The NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix will feature matchups between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs, followed by the Baltimore Ravens vs. Houston Texans. The gameday broadcast will also feature performances by Mariah Carey and Beyonce. Netflix paid the NFL $150 million for rights to the Wednesday games; however, it may end up being a risky gamble for the streaming giant as the broadcast has already been plagued by technical glitches, as per reports.
Will Netflix Prove Naysayers Wrong With One-Of-A-Kind NFL Christmas Broadcast?
Netflix’s first live NFL broadcast will officially begin when the Kansas City Chiefs face the Pittsburgh Steelers at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh at 1 PM EST, followed by the Baltimore Ravens versus Houston Texans at 4:30 PM EST, with Beyoncé performing at halftime.
It’s evident that Netflix is sticking with its agenda of maximising the potential for generating revenue during what looks like a banner year for the streamer. As per Forbes, Netflix stock’s 91% year-to-date gain through Tuesday makes the OTT platform the 13th-best performing stock listed on the S&P 500 index.
Netflix recently reached a deal to broadcast the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup and currently has the NFL, soccer, WWE and boxing in its sports portfolio. Some analysts predict that streaming live sports could be a way for Netflix to ramp up the ‘prestige’ tag and hike up its prices in the next quarter.
Interestingly, Netflix stock has gained ground over other legacy media and streaming services in the NFL broadcast segment over the last five years, posting an annualized return of 36%.
Investors may be wondering if Netflix can really extract $150 million in value for its Christmas Day NFL spectacle. It’s important to note that Netflix’s streaming of a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul drew well over one hundred million worldwide viewers which made it the most streamed “global sporting event” ever.
Moreover, the Beyonce set will be streamed in the middle of the most tense stretch of the NFL season which has playoff implications.
“These initial investments will pay off, because of the advertising revenue they will generate, and the leverage they provide Netflix for reducing net churn and continue growing its global subscriber base,” said Jacqueline Corbelli, chief executive of a tech company that specializes in television advertising. “Given the prestige of streaming NFL games, Netflix’s move is the ultimate ‘flex’ of its streaming superiority,” she said.
However, logistically is Netflix ready for this challenge? Early reports streaming in suggest that there emerged issues in the pregame show when announcer Kay Adams’ microphone malfunctioned for the first 10 seconds of the live broadcast. Shortly after, analyst Mina Kimes was unexpectedly interrupted by Netflix’s own advertisement for ‘Squid Game’ season 2. Incidentally, the Jake Paul versus Mike Tyson fight last month also faced some technical glitches related to buffering.
Ahead of Netflix’s NFL doubleheader, the platform has admitted that issues can occur during peak viewership. When Netflix ran into trouble during the Tyson and Paul fight, it “worked quickly to stabilize viewing” and despite certain challenges the streamer considers the fight to be a “huge success,” Netflix told The Enquirer.
To prevent the Kansas City Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans games from buffering, Netflix optimized systems to better handle live events at a an incredible scale and ramped up its rapport with its internet service provider partners to strengthen interconnection capacity. So, maybe Netflix is learning from its mistakes after all.
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