Netflix will be solidifying its spot in the world of live sports on a mainstream level this upcoming NFL season, recently agreeing to a media rights deal with the league to broadcast two Christmas Day games.
Christmas Day games certainly have a lot of appeal to sponsors, as all NFL games do, but there are still outstanding questions about who will be interested in purchasing ads and sponsorships on Netflix and how much they’re willing to pay.
The NFL’s “Big 8,” a group of eight protected sponsors consisting of AB InBev, Verizon, Visa, Gatorade, Pepsi, Lowe’s, Microsoft, and a yet-to-be-decided audio partner, will reportedly have the first crack at obtaining commercial spots for the games, according to Bill Bradley of Adweek.
Buyers “familiar with negotiations” told Bradley that Netflix sponsorships consist of a minimum of eight 30-second ad units, with five sponsorship packages available including sponsors for pre-game, post-game, halftime, and two in-game opportunities. Each package would reportedly come in at more than $5 million.
According to these buyers, the Big 8 advertisers have until June 26 to confirm if they want to move forward with any of the sponsorship deals. After that, other official NFL partners get opportunities to agree to a package.
It will be interesting to see whether these Big 8 advertisers even have an interest in purchasing these ad spots. Particularly because of the steep price that Netflix is seemingly set on charging them for the time slots. For reference, a single 30-second commercial during Super Bowl 58 cost advertisers $7 million.
Netflix won’t get Super Bowl numbers of course, but will they be able to bring in a sizable enough audience for these Christmas Day games to justify the spend? Given the barrier to entry that a Netflix subscription might present, it could be a challenge.
Last year, there were three Christmas Day games The highest viewership came in the matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Las Vegas Raiders at 29.2 million viewers on CBS. The worst came in the nightcap on ESPN between the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers at 27.1 million viewers.
Netflix is reportedly telling potential sponsors that they expect an audience of around 23.2 million, per Adweek, which would be a 20% drop from those network and cable audiences. That’s not nothing, but it’s also not the kind of audience the NFL pulls in for Thanksgiving or the playoffs.
[Adweek]
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.