When the NFL announced a full-on Christmas Day tripleheader for 2025, two games streaming on Netflix and a third airing on Amazon, it wasn’t just holiday programming. It was a strategic flex from a league that clearly understands it isn’t just winning. It’s dominating.
The move marks the first time the NFL has ever scheduled a Thursday Christmas slate. But let’s be honest: last year’s Netflix doubleheader already told us what was coming. The Chiefs-Steelers and Ravens-Texans matchups pulled in over 24 million viewers each. And the Beyoncé halftime show? 27 million tuned in — on a streaming platform.
Meanwhile, the full NBA Christmas lineup combined didn’t crack those numbers. The NFL saw no reason to play small in 2025.
so the NFL is indeed taking Christmas from the NBA
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) April 1, 2025
the NFL is planning a Christmas TRIPLEHEADER this year (a Thursday) after the success of last year's 2-game Christmas slate:
Game 1: Netflix
Game 2: Netflix
Game 3: Amazon
last year's viewership domination:
24.1M - Chiefs v…
Christmas, Claimed
Netflix’s three-year deal for exclusive Christmas Day rights started in 2024, and now, it’s leveling up. In 2025, the streamer returns with two games, while Amazon takes the nightcap as part of its regular Thursday Night Football slot. Kickoffs are expected at 1 p.m., 4:30 p.m., and 8:20 p.m. ET, effectively owning the day from start to finish.
This isn’t just a scheduling quirk. It’s the NFL rewriting tradition to suit its ambition.
And speaking of Amazon…
Thursday Night Football Gets Even More Flexible
Earlier this year, NFL owners approved a new tweak to the league’s flexible scheduling rules: Thursday Night Football games can now be moved with just 21 days’ notice instead of 28. That may sound like a footnote, but it’s huge.
It means the league can shuffle matchups later into the season—based on what’s hot, who’s healthy, and where the best storylines are—and hand Amazon more competitive games that pull big viewership. Yes, that’s inconvenient for fans traveling to games, but the NFL has made it clear: prime-time positioning is business, not sentiment.
This all points to a deeper truth: While other leagues are adjusting to the digital age, the NFL is out here treating platforms like pawns.
Beyond the Games: A Full-On Content Strategy
The NFL isn’t just planting its flag on Netflix and Amazon terra firma. It’s also launching a new YouTube series, NFL Offsides, combining players, gaming creators, and 1990s game-show energy in a slick, Gen Z–targeted format.
It’s sports content with YouTube pacing, Twitch attitude, and just enough chaos to hook a younger audience that isn’t watching ESPN after school. It’s not a side project. It’s a signal. The NFL doesn’t want your attention on Sundays in the fall. It wants all of it, all year.
The Bigger Picture: Media Rights, Flexibility, and Future Plays
All this content momentum is happening with a ticking clock in the background. Sources have made it clear the NFL is very likely to opt out of its current media rights deals early, potentially as soon as 2029. And when it does, platforms like Netflix, Amazon, and YouTube won’t just be contenders. They’ll be foundation pieces.
With the Super Bowl breaking viewership records and streaming platforms chasing exclusive content like gold, the NFL is in the driver’s seat. The current “amend and extend” energy from networks like Fox makes ...
