Netflix has officially sold out of all available in-game ad space for its two upcoming NFL games on Christmas Day.
Among the sponsors for the Christmas Day coverage – featuring the Kansas City Chiefs taking on the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Houston Texans facing the Baltimore Ravens – is FanDuel, which will serve as the broadcast’s exclusive pregame sportsbook partner.
The brand will also sponsor an in-show feature that will include game analysis and predictions based on FanDuel’s betting odds.
Elsewhere, Verizon has been named as the “kick-off” sponsor, with a segment airing before the games begin. Other campaigns will have traditional ads featured throughout the broadcasts.
FanDuel capitalise on NFL season
FanDuel’s parent company, Flutter Entertainment, reported adjusted EBITDA of $58m for the brand in its Q3 financial report, reflecting a significant turnaround from the $55m loss reported in Q3 2023.
FanDuel capitalised on the start of the new NFL season, reporting a 28% increase in Average Monthly Players, which generated sportsbook revenues of $822m, a 62% uptick year-over-year.
On its sponsorship of the Christmas Day Coverage, Flutter CEO told investors: “We’ll be delighted to deliver our exciting product for Americans to get behind on Christmas Day.”
The brand already acts as an official sponsor for the NFL and has deals with seven of the league’s teams.
Netflix takes the live sports content plunge
As well as the NFL, Netflix is also set to stream boxing and wrestling.
Tonight (15 November) it will broadcast the highly-anticipated boxing match between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson. The streaming platform revealed last March that it had agreed a deal with Paul’s MVP Promotions to serve as lead broadcaster.
It also recently announced a major deal to become the new streaming home of WWE Raw, securing a 10-year contract valued at $5bn.
With its choice of broadcasts appearing to focus on an event-based model, such as one-off bouts or select rounds of the NFL season, this could be the tip of the iceberg for Netflix’s live broadcast plan.
