Netflix has just tasted the first bite of a menu that several streaming platforms have already ordered and consumed as part of their subscriber acquisition and retention plan: acquiring sports rights that already have a pre-existing, captive audience. In that regard, Netflix, somewhat out of its habit, has gone to the other side of the pendulum. It will play “away” for the first time.

The NFL-Netflix deal marks a real milestone in the sports streaming landscape, as for the first time Netflix expands into live sports with exclusive rights to two NFL games: the 2024 Christmas games. The partnership will be for three seasons and also includes at least one game on Christmas 2025 and 2026. Market estimates indicate that the deal will cost Netflix just under $150 million per game, which is seen as a strategic move to increase its advertising revenue and viewer engagement.

Netflix had so far experimented with live sports in a protected environment and its own ecosystem: golf matches between F1 drivers and professional golfers; a tennis exhibition between Rafa Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz and, on July 20, a fight between influencer Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, an old heavyweight boxing glory. Sportainment with all the letters. This time Netflix behaves like a broadcaster: it buys rights and intervenes in a new territory.

The NFL has been leaning on streaming platforms for several seasons to reach younger audiences and diversify its broadcast channels. This partnership with Netflix is a continuation of this strategy, following previous agreements with Amazon and Peacock for exclusive rights to broadcast NFL games.

According to some analysts consulted by NBC, this partnership also anticipates strong growth potential for Netflix from sponsorships, as the two Christmas Day games are also estimated to generate more than $185 million in advertising revenue, with a projected maximum CPM (cost per thousand viewers) of $50. This estimate is based on a projected audience of approximately 22 million viewers for each game. As you can see, the NFL and its established expertise in different ways of streaming its games can give Netflix an accurate and compelling data analysis.

This move by Netflix into live sports is seen as a direct challenge to the NBA, which traditionally dominates Christmas Day sports programming with its five-game Christmas schedule. With more than 260 million global subscribers, Netflix’s entry into live sports is a significant development that could reshape the competitive landscape of sports streaming if its trend in rights acquisition continues.

This partnership reflects the heralded trend of streaming services leaning toward live sports to attract and retain subscribers.

Herein lies the strength of the NFL’s partnership with Netflix. More for Netflix than for the NFL. The NFL’s strategy to leverage these platforms is part of its effort to diversify revenue streams and access new markets. Which in the case of NFL is a strategy that is almost 5 years old. And in the case of Netflix it is a novelty.

According to the league’s own data, NFL regular-season games averaged 17.9 million viewers in 2023, matching the second-highest average since records began in 1995.

This growth was supported by increases of at least 24 percent in two of the five packages under new television contracts, contributing to a 7 percent increase over the previous season. The highest average viewership on record remains at 18.1 million since 2015.

Streaming has become an integral part of the NFL’s strategy to reach a broader audience, with the average age of the Prime Video audience being 48.5 years old, much younger than the average age of viewers watching the NFL on traditional television and approaching 55 years old.

It is presumed that the alliance with Netflix could deepen this trend of rejuvenating its audience and even approaching the female audience as has happened with Formula 1 since the success of the series “Drive to Survive”.

In that sense, the products of its own factory, which include live games and additional content, have also given good indicators coming from streaming: NFL Live reached its highest audience in five years with studio programs such as NFL Live, Sunday NFL Countdown, Monday Night Countdown and NFL Rewind.

End-2022 data: NFL Live viewership grew 30 percent year-over-year achieving its best viewership in five years and delivering consecutive months of multi-year ratings highs.

Streaming services such as Peacock and YouTube also benefited from American soccer and achieved new records in viewership and interactions. Peacock attracted 23 million viewers last season while YouTube became the top streamer for 12 consecutive months at the end of January 2024 from highlights and other special programs.

Netflix takes a disruptive step for its business model with sports, but does not lose its essence. In parallel to the big announcement with NFL, it unveiled the premiere of three documentaries produced in partnership with the International Olympic Committee on the road to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Netflix and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have joined forces to offer sports fans an immersive and exciting experience around the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. This partnership has resulted in the production of three new sports documentary series that will offer a behind-the-scenes look at the excitement, drama and effort of Olympic athletes.

The series are “Simone Biles: Rising,” “Sprint” and an as-yet-untitled series on men’s Olympic basketball, will offer viewers an exclusive look at the personal and sporting stories of Olympic athletes. “Simone Biles: Rising” follows the career of gymnast Simone Biles, widely regarded as the most decorated gymnast of all time, as she prepares to return to competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

“Sprint” focuses on elite athletes from the world of sprinting, such as Sha’Carri Richardson and Noah Lyles, as they compete for gold in Paris. The untitled series on men’s Olympic basketball, produced by the team behind “The Last Dance,” will offer a behind-the-scenes look at basketball teams from around the world as they battle for the gold medal.

Documentaries and live gameplay. Netflix has definitely arrived in sports and the entire audiovisual industry understands that the game is changing again.