Netflix the ‘likely winner’ in the NFL’s Christmas sweepstakes

Boomer Esiason might’ve been onto something.

A day after the former Jets quarterback relayed on WFAN that he was hearing murmurs that Netflix could be the NFL’s rights partner for a Christmas doubleheader, Puck’s John Ourand reported that the streaming service is the “likely winner” of the bid to air the games.

The price Netflix will pay for the games is not yet known.

“Still, Netflix has a lot more questions than answers right now about its Christmas plan, from who will produce the games to how much it will pay. For comparison’s sake, Amazon paid $100 million for the exclusive rights to that unwatchable Jets-Dolphins Black Friday rain-out contest. Would Netflix pay double for a package of two games, and the chance to own Christmas Day? More?” Ourand asked.

The NFL had previously said that there would be no games on Christmas this season, as the holiday falls on a Wednesday, but changed its mind after last year’s games were viewership blockbusters.

The emergence in recent years of Nielsen counting out-of-home ratings has made holidays more crowded for big sporting events.

Previously, viewers were counted immediately only if they watched TV in their own homes, but during the pandemic Nielsen started also counting when people watched games in bars, restaurants, hotels, gyms hospitals and at homes of their friends and families.

As far as how NFL teams could play games on a Wednesday, the teams that play on Christmas will play on Saturday the week before, so it will be the same rest difference as when teams play on Sunday and then the following week on Thursday nights.

Netflix is dipping its toes in live sports rights, as it is picking up WWE “Raw” next year and has run some ancillary programming like Tom Brady’s roast and the Formula One “Drive to Survive” reality show.

The streaming giant will also exclusively host the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing event that features a multi-fight card where Amanda Serrano will get her rematch with Katie Taylor in the co-main event.

Leagues like the NFL, NBA, MLB and major college sports are all hoping that the toe-dip becomes a cannonball one day.