More than four months before it’s even scheduled to take place, the Netflix NFL Christmas Day encore has already proven to be successful in at least one way.
In a statement released on Thursday, the streamer announced that it has already sold out of all of its ad space for the holiday doubleheader, which will feature the Washington Commanders hosting the Dallas Cowboys and the Minnesota Vikings facing the Detroit Lions.
“For our two highly anticipated Netflix NFL games this December, we’ve sold out of all available in-game inventory and have closed sponsorships with multiple partners like Accenture, FanDuel, Google, and Verizon on in-game and broadcast features,” Netflix wrote in a memo released by its president of advertising, Amy Reinhard.
Despite the four-month-plus advance, the news hardly comes as a surprise. After all, Netflix’s NFL debut last Christmas Day proved to be a smashing success from a ratings standpoint, with the doubleheader featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens drawing an average of 24.2 million viewers, good for the NFL’s two most-streamed games ever in the United States.
While plenty can change between now and December, this year’s doubleheader figures to find similar success, especially when considering the presence of the Dallas Cowboys brand. As such, it makes sense advertisers would already be lining up for what is quickly establishing itself as one of the NFL’s premier dates, regardless of the platform.
Whereas the idea of an NFL game being available exclusively on streaming seemed like a hurdle for viewers as recently as the 2023 season, the Netflix games now carry an aura of prestige — especially when considering the streamer’s stellar production and Christmas Day date. To that end, it’s worth wondering whether Netflix will be able to repeat that presentation with networks reportedly more wary of lending the streaming their talent than they were a year ago.
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.