After two-straight streaming-exclusive years, the NFL Christmas Day slate will again have a broadcast TV component.
NFL EVP/media distribution Hans Schroeder said during a call with reporters Tuesday that the league will schedule one of its three Christmas Day games for FOX this coming season, according to Eric Fisher of Front Office Sports, marking the first time since 2023 that a Christmas Day game is set for broadcast television.
The two other games will air on Netflix, which is entering the final season of its contract to carry Christmas Day games. Netflix aired the only two Christmas games in the 2024 season and two of the three last year, with Prime Video carrying the third. NFL Christmas viewership declined in both of those years. (Note that all ‘streaming-exclusive’ NFL games are simulcast on local over-the-air affiliates in the home markets.)
By comparison, the league had its most-watched Christmas on record in 2023, when all three games aired on broadcast TV — one each on CBS, FOX and ABC.
The FOX assignment comes amidst increasing regulatory scrutiny regarding the presence of sports on broadcast television as compared to streaming, with Fox Corporation in particular advocating for broadcast in a comment submitted to the FCC. There is no reason to believe the scheduling is related, but there is no reason to believe it is unrelated either.
It should be noted that when the 2021 NFL media rights deals were initially announced, FOX announced that it had rights to air a Christmas Day game whenever the schedule would allow — and it carried one game on the holiday in the 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons, a streak that ended with the Netflix deal.
Instead of airing games on Christmas itself, FOX the past two seasons has carried games on the Saturday beforehand, including a doubleheader this past season.
There is of course no indication that the NFL plans to go back to a full slate of Christmas games on broadcast television, as Netflix is reportedly seeking to extend and expand its current deal.