For several years, NBC has welcomed fans into the new NFL season each fall with broadcast rights to the first game of the fall.
Typically, this game sees the reigning Super Bowl champion facing off against a rival team or another marquee franchise. Before this year, when the NFL booked a game in Australia that may cause some reshuffling, the opening game of the season had always been on a Thursday night leading into Week 1.
With a standalone national broadcast window in primetime and a clash between two premier teams, the game is exactly the type of property that Netflix has coveted as it has gradually embraced live sports events in recent years.
And according to Bloomberg, the streamer “would love to find a way to get the season opener.”
Netflix currently airs a doubleheader with the NFL Christmas GameDay each year. As the NFL shops a five-game package of national games throughout the season, Netflix also is reportedly one of the front-runners for that package, which would likely include the Week 1 Australia game, a Thanksgiving Eve (aka Wednesday) game, a second Black Friday game, and a Christmas Eve game.
Netflix aired the first game of the MLB season last month in its first foray into baseball. The streamer will also put on the Home Run Derby in July.
Coming off the heels of a prominent analyst’s suggestion that NBC may be the most likely network partner to lose its NFL package when the current deals expire in 2029 and 2030, this report adds even more pressure on NBC and its valuable package, which includes Sunday nights and the kickoff game as well as significant postseason inventory.
Clearly, Netflix has its sights set on the NFL as a top target in its live sports strategy. It is certainly easier to turn any NFL game into a big event because of its shorter season and regular standalone broadcast windows.
About Brendon Kleen
Brendon is a Media Commentary staff writer at Awful Announcing. He has also covered basketball and sports business at Front Office Sports, SB Nation, Uproxx and more.