Amid concerns about the quality of their live streams for sporting events, Netflix will reportedly retain the broadcast rights for the two NFL Christmas games this year.
Even though the holiday falls on a Wednesday this year, two NFL Christmas games were scheduled for this year on Netflix: Kansas City Chiefs at Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens at Houston Texans.
As most of you know, Netflix came under fire for live-streaming issues during the highly-anticipated Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight on Friday night. The stream buffered continuously throughout the night, prompting some NFL fans to voice their concerns about Netflix broadcasting two NFL games.
According to a report from Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports, though, the league won’t scrap their deal with Netflix for the two NFL Christmas games:
“There were clearly a lot of emails and calls flying around over the weekend,” said an industry source. “What happened was definitely noted, and there were conversations.”
Still, the league has confidence in Netflix’s ability to deliver on Christmas, sources said, and there was also a sense of relief that something of a large-scale stress test has now happened—away from the NFL.”
Both NFL Christmas Games Carry Major Playoff Implications
Given the importance of both games, it’s especially imperative that Netflix’s NFL broadcasts go smoothly this year. The Chiefs are the new “America’s Team”, and they happen to be playing another popular NFL franchise and top Super Bowl contender in the Steelers.
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The Ravens (7-4) and Texans (6-4) are also poised to make the postseason, and this game could very well impact playoff seeding. So let’s hope fans are treated to a good quality stream, otherwise there will be calls to keep Netflix away from NFL broadcasts forever.
