NFL fans in US must pay $1,600 a year to watch every game after Netflix addition

After the success of shows like Drive to Survive, Full Swing and The Roast of Tom Brady, Netflix is ​​continuing its move into live sports broadcasting. The company announced Wednesday that it will air two NFL games on Christmas Day during the 2024 season, with at least one other Christmas game in 2025 and 2026.

Netflix has hosted one-off events in tennis, golf and boxing, but this is the first live collaboration between the streaming company and one of the major US sports leagues.

Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria said Wednesday: “There are no annual live events, sports or otherwise, that compare to the audience that NFL football attracts.”

The company did not disclose the financial terms of the deal. Bloomberg News, which first reported on the negotiations, said Netflix will pay less than $150 million for exclusive international rights. The streaming service has focused on live events and sports in recent months to retain users and build its advertising business as growth in the U.S. market saturates.

Netflix has made a gradual transition to NFL coverage. In 2023, it released the popular Quarterback series starring Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins ​​​​and Marcus Mariota. This summer, they’ll premiere a Receiver series, chronicling the paths of stars like Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson during the 2023 season.

The NFL has continued to do that turn towards streaming platforms and away from its traditional broadcast partners. But as the league pursues new distribution channels, costs for fans at home continue to rise. The addition of Netflix brings the total number of services needed to watch all of the league’s matches to seven. Viewers will need a cable or YouTube TV subscription, as well as Sunday Ticket, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, ESPN+, NFL+ and Netflix.

Cord-cutting fans will have to subscribe to all seven services to get access to the entire 2024 NFL slate, with a price tag of around $1,600 based on last season’s prices and Netflix’s current cheapest offering. That figure does not include the cost of internet service required to provide a streaming-only option. According to OpenVaultthe average price Americans paid for internet services in 2022 was $64 per month. That will bring the total spend to more than $2,000 for the NFL regular season, the playoffs and the Super Bowl.

It will be even more expensive for cable subscribers, who will still have to subscribe to NFL+, ESPN+, Peacock, Amazon Prime and Netflix in addition to their cable subscription to watch the league in its entirety. Four streaming platforms will offer exclusive games in 2024.

Consumers can find solutions. Free trials and short-term signups can be used to cover some of the costs. For example, customers can sign up for Netflix for the month of December to watch the Christmas games and then cancel their subscription in January. However, the distribution of games on streaming platforms is designed to retain consumers over several months. Unlike Netflix’s Christmas Day deal, Thursday Night Football is available on Amazon Prime all season long. Peacock will broadcast three exclusive matches in 2024: the league’s first regular season match in São Paulo in September, a regular season match in December and a playoff game in January.

The bet for streamers is that customers will remain committed to the service once they register for a one-time event – ​​or forget to cancel. The NFL aired its first streaming-exclusive game on Peacock during the playoffs last season. The Jan. 13 game between the Chiefs and Dolphins added three million new logins to the service. NBC said the game was the “most streamed event in American history,” with 21 million viewers. The option to sign up for a free trial was eliminated for the game, while the service retained most of its new subscribers. According to IndieWire, 71% of users who paid to sign up remained subscribers through the end of February 2024.

The NFL will announce its full regular season schedule on Wednesday, including Christmas Day games.