In recent times, Netflix has started to invest heavily in live sports broadcasts. In addition to the 2027 and 2031 editions of the FIFA Women’s World Cup and the boxing match between multiple champion Mike Tyson and YouTuber Jake Paul, the streaming giant is preparing for the Christmas matches of the NFL, the American football league.
As reported here and here by Netflix will broadcast two games on December 25: Kansas City Chiefs x Pittsburgh Steelers, at 3 p.m., and Baltimore Ravens x Houston Texans, at 6:30 p.m.
Netflix invests heavily in sports
Ed Desser, president of Desser Sports Media Inc. and the NBA’s senior media executive for 23 years, says, “The NFL is always looking to the future and about the next generation of power players in the media space, which Netflix has undoubtedly become.”
“Now, that being said, they haven’t become a power player in the sport yet. A boxing match and a few NFL games on Christmas Day don’t make a juggernaut. But this is the beginning for a company that for years has sworn not to be interested in sport,” he continues.
Last Monday (16), Netflix had a market capitalization of $395 billion (R$2.4 trillion), further strengthening its bet on sports. It is worth mentioning that, worldwide, the company has 270 million subscribers, of which 80 million are in the United States and Canada alone.
Go beyond streaming
With its financial power, the company now threatens linear channel networks with its financial power, as well as transcending its field and starting to want to work in the advertising field.
One of the ways the company discovered this was by selling advertising for NFL games this Christmas.
All available spaces have been acquired. Marketing is also a good deal thanks to the partnership with the American franchise. So much so that the second season of the sensational “Round 6” is scheduled for the next day (26).
The audience will also be measured better. While the Tyson vs. Paul showdown came from Netflix’s primary streaming data, the two NFL games will be measured by Nielsen, similar to the showdowns broadcast on Prime Video during Thursday Night Football.
“We are looking at the viewing metrics and how they compare to other NFL games with Nielsen’s standardized measurement versus Netflix’s internal metrics for the Tyson-Paul fight,” said MoffetNathanson senior analyst Robert Fishman, who covers Netflix.
New transmission problems?
During the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul, many subscribers complained of problems loading the broadcast and blocking the screen (the attended the event and faced some situations related to buffering errors).
In the United States, businessman Jerry Jones, who participated in the broadcast, had technical problems with his microphone (we did not notice similar conditions or other errors in the Brazilian broadcast, carried out by Luis Felipe Freitas and the former boxer Acelino “Popó” Freitas ).
Possibly due to these issues, Netflix outsourced the production of NFL games to CBS. The programs that will be broadcast before, during and after the games will be managed by NFL Media.
In November, during Netflix’s International Showcase, the company’s director of content, Bela Bajaria, said she was confident about the NFL broadcast, saying that the streamer and its engineering team will be ready.
In the United States, there will be a mix of NFL announcers and commentators from CBS, ESPN, NBC, NFL Network and Fox Teamsthe streaming giant pays five to six figures, depending on the role.
Even if there are issues with the broadcast, John Kosner, a former digital media executive at ESPN and now a digital startup investor and president of Kosner Media, believes this won’t be able to change the likely long-term partnership between the league and the streamer.
I tend to think the NFL sees this as a glitch that can be fixed. The simultaneous nature of all this creates new opportunities. I’m sure all parties really want Netflix to resolve this issue on Christmas Day. So, beyond the public relations embarrassment [Relações Públicas] In the short time that happened after the Tyson-Paul fight, I don’t think it really changes things.
John Kosner, former digital media executive at ESPN, digital startup investor and president of Kosner Media, in an interview with The New York Times
“The conventional wisdom was that you couldn’t expand your games across the Internet and have all these concurrent users, but, of course, Amazon first demonstrated that it was possible,” he adds.
“Netflix is still in the discovery phase,” Desser said. “This is a research and development measure for them and they will learn from it. I think the NFL would love nothing more than for Netflix to be a serious competitor next time for a whole slice instead of crumbs.
What Netflix says
THE is attempting to reach Netflix for comment on its NFL broadcast and will update this report after receiving a response.
The post Netflix Strengthens Its Commitment to Sports Broadcasting by Showing the NFL at Christmas appeared first on Olhar Digital.
Source: Olhar Digital
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
