The streaming platform is investing more and more in sport and is launching into broadcasting matches.
The streaming platform is known for releasing hit series. Of Stranger Things has The Crown passing through Narcos or even Sex Educationthere is something for all tastes and colors. But Netflix is now a major broadcaster and even creator of sports content and offers many immersive series and even live shows.
In a few months Netflix will broadcast the WWE wrestling show. But the platform has also decided to launch an attack on another American sport appreciated and followed by millions of fans every year: American football and its prestigious championship, the NFL. This is the first time that rights to a major championship have been purchased by Netflix.
The video-on-demand service will broadcast two games on Christmas Day 2024 and at least one game on the same date in 2025 and 2026. This year, the two games broadcast will be Kansas City Chiefs – Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans – Baltimore Ravens.
Why such a strategy and why broadcast the NFL in France in particular? According to figures mentioned during the announcement, 39 of the 50 best audiences for the year 2023 in the United States were achieved by NFL matches, including the 14 largest. If the cost was initially considered too high to broadcast traditional events, the trend has changed.
“There is no annual event, sports or otherwise, that compares to the NFL in terms of viewership,” explained content manager Bela Bajaria. According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix will pay $75 million to broadcast each of this year’s two matches. At halftime of the meeting and for the occasion, the singer Beyoncé will perform songs from her album live for the first time Cowboy Carterreleased last March.
But be careful! While some hope to see Netflix acquire numerous rights, this is not the platform’s stated goal, at least for the moment. Vice President Spencer Wang explained that it was not a question of the platform “make a big investment in sport but to expand its catalog of one-off events likely to generate audiences.”