After agreeing to pay the NFL a reported $150 million last month for the domestic TV rights to two Christmas Day regular-season games, Netflix now faces a tedious task: Lining of production and talent to actually stream the games.
Netflix has reportedly reached out to media companies that already have established NFL broadcast infrastructure: Paramount Global’s CBS Sports, Disney’s ESPN and NBCUniversal.
Citing unnamed sources, CNBC said Netflix’s discussions with these companies hasn't gone into much depth yet, but Netflix’s options may be “somewhat limited.”
For one, all of these prospective contractors are very busy with their own football production obligations. ESPN, for example, doesn't just have Monday Night Football, it also has a rather vast college football rights portfolio.
Notably, Amazon was able to partner up with NBCU prior to its first season of Thursday Night Football in 2022.
Amazon produces all of its pregame, halftime and postgame coverage under lead producer Mark Teitelman. But NBC Sports also oversees “extensive production work” and employs most of the crew.
For its part, Netflix faces a media business that’s a bit more wary of aiding a long-term competitor, CNBC’s insiders say.
“There aren't that many players in the space who are capable of doing this at a level that you would want to trust when you’re launching as a new partner with a league as important as the NBA or the NFL,” said Shirin Malkani, co-chair of the sports industry group at law firm Perkins Coie, to CNBC.
There are third-party options, however, such as Endeavor Group Holdings’ IMG, which produces Apple’s Major League Soccer coverage.
