Watching an NFL game used to be as simple as just flipping on the television and, in some cases, owning a cable subscription for those out-of-market games. But now, it seems you need a dozen different streaming services just to watch your favorite team each week — and the costs are adding up.
Netflix announced Wednesday that the streaming giant has secured the exclusive rights to air two NFL games on Christmas Day this upcoming season, and at least one Yuletide game each of the next two years. While we won't know the matchups until the full 2024 NFL schedule is revealed Wednesday night, Netflix is already celebrating the blockbuster deal.
"Last year, we decided to take a big bet on live — tapping into massive fandoms across comedy, reality TV, sports, and more," Netflix chief content officer Bela Bajaria said in a statement. "There are no live annual events, sports or otherwise, that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts. We’re so excited that the NFL’s Christmas Day games will be only on Netflix."
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NFL to hold Christmas Day games despite holiday falling on a Wednesday
That means if you don't have one already, you'll probably need to sign up for a Netflix subscription in order to watch the Christmas Day games. The cheapest plan — with ads — currently costs $6.99 a month.
But that's just for those two games. What about all the other 272 regular season NFL matchups?
Following the latest deal with Netflix, the NFL now has exclusive rights agreements with at least four different streaming services: Netflix, ESPN+, Prime Video, and Peacock. We did the math:
Netflix - $6.99/month
ESPN+ - $10.99/month
Prime Video - $8.99/month
Peacock - $5.99/month
Assuming you subscribe to each service for the entirety of the 18-week NFL regular season, that means you'll have to shell out nearly $165 just to watch games on those four streaming platforms. Add on YouTube TV for $72.99 per month and NFL Sunday Ticket for $349 to cover every other game next season, and you're looking at spending nearly $900 to watch football.
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Now, there are ways to lower the cost by only subscribing to certain platforms during the months they host NFL games. But with so many streaming services out there, Axios media reporter Kerry Flynn noted that it can be difficult to keep track.
"When myself and other users look at their monthly credit card bill, it's looking a little alarming with all those individual line items of those services," she said. "So really there's that like price sticker shock."
Earlier this year, ESPN, FOX and Warner Bros. Discovery announced they were planning to combine their sports offerings into a new streaming package that will be available later this year. The new service will reportedly bring together coverage of the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, college football, the FIFA World Cup, and golf, tennis and cycling events.
That means sports fans would finally have a single place where they could watch all their favorite matches, races, and more — although it sounds a lot like the cable of the past.
