Netflix has struck a deal to have CBS produce its Christmas Day NFL doubleheader, Joe Flint of The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
Under the deal, Netflix will pay CBS a production fee and air promotional spots for the network’s programming. CBS will also have advertising inventory in the local over-the-air simulcasts in the participating markets.
Per Flint, the deal does not require Netflix to use CBS on-air talent.
Netflix earlier this year acquired rights to NFL Christmas games in each of the next three seasons, including both of this year’s games — an afternoon doubleheader of Chiefs-Steelers at 1 PM ET and Ravens-Texans at 4:30.
The NFL was not initially expected to schedule any games for Christmas this season, as the holiday falls on a Wednesday, a day of the week on which the league rarely schedules games. The league’s viewership success on the holiday prompted it to reverse course. In order to facilitate the Wednesday games, the league scheduled the four participating teams for games the preceding Saturday — resulting the same number of off-days as if they played Sunday and again on Thursday.
The NFL Christmas games are a milestone of sorts for Netflix, which for years has been considered a dark horse contender for sports rights. The NFL will be the first traditional live sporting property carried by the streamer, which has in the past aired a smattering of made-for-TV competitions.
For the NFL, the Netflix games are just the latest entry into direct-to-subscriber streaming, joining the league’s Thursday Night Football package on Amazon and annual games on Peacock and ESPN+. As a result of the Netflix deal, the NFL now has relationships with all-but-one of the so-called FANG stocks — Amazon, Netflix and Google, with Facebook being the exception.
