NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DECEMBER 01: NFL Christmas Gameday signage advertising the NFL’s two … [+] Christmas Day marquee games streaming live on Netflix on December 01, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
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The NFL’s first-ever games on Netflix kick off Christmas Day on Wednesday with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Houston Texans.
The NFL struck a three-year deal with Netflix in May to air two games annually on Christmas Day for $150 million per year, or $75 million per game. Luckily for the venerable streaming service, the first set of games features four contenders who have all clinched playoff spots.
Undetermined, however, are the playoff seeds. The Steelers (10-5) host the defending Super Bowl Champion Chiefs (14-1), while the Texans host the Ravens (10-5) host the Texans. The Chiefs have already clinched the AFC West, and the Texans have clinched the AFC South while the Steelers and Ravens are still in a battle for the top spot in the AFC North.
The Steelers currently own the tiebreaker over the Ravens if the teams finish with the same record.
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – DECEMBER 01: Netflix and NFL signage advertising the NFL’s two Christmas … [+] Day marquee games streaming live on Netflix on December 01, 2024 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)
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What Time Do Netflix’s Live NFL Christmas Day Games Begin?
Per Netflix, the NFL live Christmas Day programming begins with a pre-game show at 11 a.m. ET, which includes Mariah Carey’s new pre-recorded version of her blockbuster Christmas hit All I Want for Christmas is You.
The Chiefs-Steelers game will kick off at 1 p.m. ET, while the Ravens-Texans game begins at 4:30 p.m. ET.
The Ravens-Texans game will feature a live halftime performance by Beyoncé, who will sing selections from her hit Cowboy Carter album.
You must subscribe to Netflix to watch the Chiefs vs. Steelers and Texans vs. Ravens on the streaming service. The game will be available to all of Netflix’s 283 million members globally, regardless of which subscription package—ad-based or ad-free—viewers subscribe to.
Per CBS News, if you’re not a Netflix subscriber in either Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Houston or Baltimore, the games will air on the CBS-TV network affiliates in the respective markets.
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If you’re a new subscriber and pick the standard ad-based plan ($6.99 per month for two supported devices), ad-free plan ($15.49 per month for two supported devices) or premium ($22.99 per month for four supported devices), you will be able to watch programming on Netflix for a month with an option to renew monthly after that.
The NFL’s Christmas Day games On Netflix come after the huge success of the streamer’s Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match in November, which peaked at 65 million concurrent streams. Netflix, however, encountered technical issues that resulted in buffering during the match.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – OCTOBER 15: A detailed view of the NFL logo on a football prior to the game … [+] between the Minnesota Vikings and the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on October 15, 2023 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images)
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The NFL’s Deal With Netflix Is The Latest In The League’s Expansion to Streaming
Of course, the NFL’s three-year deal with Netflix to stream two games on Christmas Day isn’t the league’s first venture into streaming.
According to Amazon, the company’s first streaming simulcast of an NFL game happened in 2017, which was followed by an expansion to 11 Thursday Night Football NFL games on Amazon’s Prime Video platform in 2020.
In 2021, per the streaming service Amazon entered a 10-year deal to stream 15 Thursday Night Football games, as well as one pre-season game, beginning in 2023.
Meanwhile, Peacock—which simultaneously streams NBC’s Sunday Night Football games—exclusively streamed a 2023 wild-card playoff game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Miami Dolphins. This season, Peacock exclusively streamed the NFL Week 1 game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers—a neutral site game in São Paulo, Brazil.
In addition, ESPN+—the streaming app for cable network ESPN—exclusively streamed the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and Arizona Cardinals in October.
NFL’s Christmas Day games on Netflix begin at 1 p.m. ET with the Kansas City Chiefs vs. the Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by the Baltimore Ravens vs. the Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m. ET.
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