NFL fans in US must pay $1,600 a year to watch every game after Netflix addition

[Diamond_Dog]

After the success of shows like Drive to Survive, Full Swing, and The Roast of Tom Brady, Netflix is continuing its move into live sports broadcasting. The company announced on Wednesday that it will broadcast two NFL games on Christmas Day during the 2024 season, with at least one other Christmas game in 2025 and 2026.

Netflix has hosted one-off events in tennis, golf and boxing but this is the first live partnership between the streaming company and one of the major US sports leagues.

Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria said on Wednesday “there are no live annual events, sports or otherwise, that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts.”

(snip)

Netflix has made a gradual move into NFL coverage. In 2023, it released the popular Quarterback series featuring Patrick Mahomes, Kirk Cousins and Marcus Mariota. This summer, they will premiere a Receiver series, chronicling the paths of stars such as Davante Adams and Justin Jefferson during the 2023 season.

The NFL has continued to pivot towards streaming platforms and away from its traditional broadcast partners. But as the league chases new distribution outlets, the cost for fans at home continues to balloon. Adding Netflix will take the total number of services needed to watch all of the league’s games to seven. Viewers will need a cable or YouTube TV subscription as well as Sunday Ticket, Amazon Prime Video, Peacock, ESPN+, NFL+ and Netflix.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/article/2024/may/15/nfl-netflix-steaming-exclusive-games-price

[OAITW r.2.0]

1. I dunno...I like the NFL, but to watch every game?

Who would, except maybe bookies.

[TheRickles]

2. Not sure about their numbers, esp. for network broadcasts

"$876 - Network games: Fox, CBS, NBC, ABC, ESPN." Since Fox, CBS, NBC and ABC are free, does this mean that ESPN costs $876/yr? Something's off....

[sl8]

5. Looks like the $876 is the annual cost for Youtube TV.

That's if you want to stream those four network channels. They have different figures if you get them via cable TV:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/want-to-watch-every-nfl-game-without-cable-this-season-heres-how-much-it-will-cost-you-e6005c64

[True Dough]

3. If it doesn't show up on my current cable package

I'm not paying one extra dollar!

[Auggie]

4. +1

[IbogaProject]

6. Meh

They can try and make do with advertising dollars. No way I'm paying for that. Freeon TV on a cool sunday afternoon, ok, but I'm not paying beyond commercial breaks.

[sl8]

7. They're using Marketwatch as their source for pricing (prior to the Netflix deal?)

Here's a Marketwatch article from last year that has prices that match those in the Guardian article. The Marketwatch article also shows different price estimates for streaming vs cable viewing:

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/want-to-watch-every-nfl-game-without-cable-this-season-heres-how-much-it-will-cost-you-e6005c64

Want to watch every NFL game this season? Here’s how much it will cost you.

[AZ8theist]

8. Yeah, go for it.........

....there are literally dozens of streaming sites on the intertubes for free...

I haven't paid for a game since I jettisoned Direct TV decades ago...........

[calguy]

9. I'll never pay an extra penny to watch any NFL game

I've been a huge fan of the NFL since the late 1960's. I've hardly missed a game on TV during that time, but as much as I love football, I hate the greed that has taken over the league and all professional sports.
In my mind, there's no way the athletes are worth the obscene salaries they are getting. The only reason they can command that kind of money is because of the collective gullibility of the fans as a whole. It doesn't matter how insanely high ticket prices get, the fans will always fork out their hard-earned money to pack the stadiums.
And now the NFL is looking to gouge the fans who can't afford tickets my forcing them to subscribe to premium channels to a growing number of games. This trend will continue until the fans say enough is enough and refuse to shell out even more of their money to support this rich man's game.

[Angleae]

10. Just wait until they make the Super Bowl a pay-per-view event.