Netflix, Eager for More NFL, Is Looking at a Four-Game Package
The streamer, which currently has Christmas games, is among those interested in the new Thanksgiving-Eve matchup
- Netflix wants to expand its NFL game package from two to four games, seeking the new Thanksgiving Eve game and an international game.
- The NFL has five games available for sale, including four reclaimed rights and a stand-alone international game.
- YouTube and Amazon have also expressed interest in more NFL games.
Netflix NFLX -0.49%decrease; red down pointing triangle is ready for more football.
The streamer is looking to expand its current two-game package to four games, according to people familiar with the matter. It is interested in adding the National Football League’s new Thanksgiving Eve game and an international game, likely in the season’s opening week, those people said.
Netflix is in the final year of its three-year Christmas Day game package, for which it paid about $75 million a game.
Sports and live events are seen as a means to attract and keep subscribers and an opportunity for Netflix to boost its nascent advertising business. In addition to eyeing more NFL games, Netflix has added boxing matchups and other sporting exhibitions, as well as some WWE content, in recent years. It carried its first Major League Baseball game last week, part of a $50 million-a-year deal that also included the Home Run Derby component of the All-Star game and the annual “Field of Dreams” game.
The NFL reclaimed the rights to four games as part of its deal last year to sell the NFL Network to Disney’s ESPN and take an ownership stake in the sports service. A fifth game is also up for grabs—the first international game of the season, which the NFL has sold as a stand-alone property for the past two seasons.
The league is taking a flexible approach to selling the games and is willing to field offers for some or all of the inventory from suitors, said a person familiar with the NFL’s thinking. In other words, these five games could end up being sold to multiple services.
Google’s YouTube, which last season carried an international game and has the rights to the Sunday Ticket package offering out-of-market games, has expressed interest in additional games, people familiar with the situation said. Some broadcast partners and Amazon, which carries Thursday Night Football, are also open to potentially adding more games, said people familiar with their plans.
Separately, the NFL is seeking to open up its deals with current rights holders, motivated in part by the National Basketball Association’s lucrative new pact with ESPN and NBC. Under the NFL’s current agreements with CBS, NBC and Fox, the league has an opt-out window after the 2029-30 season.
The sale of CBS parent Paramount to Skydance Media triggered a change-of-ownership clause allowing the NFL to renegotiate its $2.1 billion annual agreement. Paramount Chief Executive David Ellison has said he expects to maintain the company’s relationship with the NFL.
The NFL also owns a small stake in Paramount.
If the NFL reaches a new pact with CBS, it is expected to turn its attention to new deals with other broadcast rights holders, people familiar with the matter said. A potential sticking point will be the networks’ desire to extend the contracts’ length and lock in any new pricing to stave off another increase soon.
The NFL’s deals with Fox, CBS and Amazon are up after the 2033 season, while its agreement with ESPN expires after the 2034 season.