Tag: streaming

Dec 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; The Christmas Day patch is seen on the jersey of Minnesota Vikings running back Zavier Scott (36) during warmups before the game against the Detroit Lions at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

NFL vows not to explore streaming deals despite White House opposition

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The NFL plans to continue offering a diversified broadcast package despite political and public criticism of the league expanding streaming opportunities with Netflix and Amazon.

“We love our model,” NFL president of media distribution Hans Schroeder said Friday, discussing the NFL’s schedule release for the 2026 regular season.

The majority of regular-season games — more than 86% — are available on free, over-the-air television via traditional broadcast partners NBC, ABC, CBS and FOX.

But Netflix carved out a slightly bigger portion of the vast single-game opportunities. The streaming giant has the first NFL regular-season game in Australia — Sept. 10 between the 49ers and Rams — a Thanksgiving Eve game and another game on Christmas Day, plus exclusive rights to the NFL awards ceremony known as NFL Honors. The annual program airs Super Bowl week from the host city with MVP, Coach of the Year and other awards handed out along with the first reveal of the year’s Pro Football Hall of Fame class.

In 2025, Netflix averaged 27.5 million viewers for the Vikings-Lions game among only U.S. customers.

FOX and the National Association of Broadcasters opposed taking games off of network television. The Justice Department reportedly is checking into any violations or failed compliance with the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961. NFL vice president of communications Jeff Miller said of the opposition, “I’m not sure I really understand where that comes from.”

He said the NFL remains fully committed to broadcasting games on network television. Schroeder said there is no reason the partners should be mutually exclusive.

“We think broadcast [networks] have been an incredible home,” he said. “And, now, we also know fans are increasingly spending their time on other platforms as well. They tune into broadcast for the NFL and that’s where we want to be. But we also want to be on these platforms with a limited amount of our games where we know our NFL fans are already as well.

“When we’re going onto Netflix, we’re going onto a platform that is already massively adopted and a huge number of viewers on that platform already, including a huge number of NFL fans.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 2, 2023; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Amazon Prime Video's Thursday Night Football cast (L to R) Charissa Thompson and Tony Gonzalez and Ryan Fitzpatrick and Andrew Whitworth and Richard Sherman on set before the Pittsburgh Steelers host the Tennessee Titans against at Acrisure Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

NFL grants Amazon, Peacock rights to two marquee games

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Two more NFL games will be distributed exclusively via a streaming service in the 2024 season.

The league announced Tuesday that Peacock will have the rights to stream the Week 1 game from Sao Paulo, Brazil, which will be the first NFL contest in South America. The Philadelphia Eagles already are booked for that game against an opponent still to be announced.

Amazon Prime Video has been granted an NFL wild-card game, which will represent the second time a playoff game has been streamed exclusively. Last season, Peacock streamed the Kansas City Chiefs’ 26-7 AFC wild-card win over the Miami Dolphins, memorable as the fourth-coldest game in league history.

Amazon Prime already has the rights to the league’s Thursday night package.

“As media consumption habits evolve, the NFL continues to work with our partners to put our games on digital platforms where our fans are increasingly spending their time,” Hans Schroeder, NFL executive vice president of media distribution, said in a news release. “The viewership success of both Thursday Night Football on Prime Video and the historic Wild Card game on Peacock last season are strong indicators our streaming distribution is resonating with our fans.”

Both the Week 1 Brazil game on Peacock and the wild-card game on Prime Video will be available for free on broadcast television in the local markets of the competing teams as well as on the NFL+ mobile app.

The wild-card game between the Chiefs and Dolphins on Peacock averaged approximately 23 million viewers, which the NFL said set a record for the most-streamed live event in U.S. history.

–Field Level Media

Nov 20, 2022; Inglewood, California, USA; NBC Sunday Night Football broadcaster Mike Tirico reacts during the game between the Los Angeles Chargers and the Kansas City Chiefs at SoFi Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Peacock lands NFL’s first exclusive streamed playoff game

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Peacock reached a one-year deal with the NFL to become the first streaming platform with exclusive rights to an NFL playoff game on Monday.

According to the league and NBCUniversal’s announcement, Peacock will carry a prime-time game in the wild-card round on Saturday, Jan. 13, immediately following a late-afternoon playoff game shown on NBC and Peacock. The cities of the two teams playing in the game will still have the game carried on NBC.

The deal was in the $110 million range, the Wall Street Journal reported.

“We are excited to work with a great partner in Peacock to present the first-ever exclusively live streamed NFL playoff game this upcoming season,” said Hans Schroeder, NFL Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of NFL Media. “Expanding the digital distribution of NFL content while maintaining wide reach for our games continues to be a key priority for the League, and bringing the excitement of an NFL playoff game exclusively to Peacock’s streaming platform is the next step in that strategy.”

Peacock formerly had a free option; now subscriptions cost either $4.99 or $9.99 per month.

The platform will also have exclusive rights to one regular-season game for the first time, a Saturday night tilt in Week 16 between the Buffalo Bills and host Los Angeles Chargers.

–Field Level Media

Apr 28, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announces Northern Iowa offensive tackle Trevor Penning as the nineteenth overall pick to the New Orleans Saints during the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft at the NFL Draft Theater. Mandatory Credit: Gary Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Roger Goodell believes ‘Sunday Ticket’ will land with a streaming service

Posted on | by Field Level Media

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in an interview Friday that the “NFL Sunday Ticket” package will be heading to a streaming service, with a final decision coming by this fall.

“These discussions have been going on for well over a year,” Goodell told CNBC. “It’s an important decision for us because these assets are really valuable to us. I clearly believe we’ll be moving to a streaming service. I think that’s best for the consumers at this stage.

“But we have so much interest right now and there’s so much innovation around that and how we’re going to be able to change the way people watch football. I think we’ll probably have some decision by the fall.”

Sunday Ticket, the package that lets consumers watch out-of-market NFL games, debuted in 1994. DirecTV has been the exclusive carrier since its launch, but its contract expires after the 2022 NFL season.

When the deal with the satellite provider ends, a streamer will takes its place. Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV+ and ESPN+ have all reportedly bid for the rights. The New York Post reported last November that HBO Max could be a dark horse in the race.

Goodell also announced that the league was debuting its own direct-to-consumer streaming service, NFL+, in time for the 2022 season. He did not go into detail about the type of content the new platform would offer.

–Field Level Media

Nov 14, 2021; Denver, Colorado, USA; General view of a CBS sports sideline camera prior to the game between the against the Philadelphia Eagles against the Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

Report: NFL preparing to launch streaming service in July

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The NFL will soon be exploring yet another revenue stream, as the league is set to launch its own streaming service in July, per a report Wednesday from Sports Business Journal.

“NFL Plus” would charge customers in the range of $5 a month, with live games streaming to tablets and phones being the primary selling point.

Still, those games would be limited to games fans can already receive in their local markets, which calls into question how valuable a service this might actually be for many fans.

From the NFL’s perspective, having access to monthly subscriptions dollars as well as customer data is a highly appealing prospect. But it remains to be seen what other content in addition to games will be available to draw fan interest.

Possibilities listed by SBJ include podcasts, radio and various team-produced pieces of content.

Multiple media outlets have further speculated that the league may also house its “Sunday Ticket” package within the new format, though the league is currently bidding that package out.

–Field Level Media