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The NFL's first non-Sunday Christmas Day games were mostly forgettable. On one special Wednesday afternoon and evening, commissioner Roger Goodell treated fans to blowouts between AFC playoff teams. The Kansas City Chiefs dispatched the Pittsburgh Steelers, 29-10. Hours later, the Baltimore Ravens shoved the Houston Texans into a locker by the count of 31-2.
This was, evidently, a wonderful success in Goodell's eyes -- so much so he's expanding the NFL's grip on Christmas games.
Goodell took to ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show to present a basic state of the union for NFL fans. There, he told the world the league wouldn't merely keep running games on Christmas Day -- historically the NBA's turf -- but would expand its offering to a Thanksgiving-like three matchups each season.
"We will clearly have three games every year," Goodell responded to a softball question lobbed to him by someone other than Pat McAfee. "We feel the same way as you do."
"We didn't have the best games that day. It wasn't our best football," he continued. "When we brought Thursday Night Football in, it took coaches a while to figure out how to prepare their team, how to coach for it -- and the players, too. Now Thursday night games have really become competitive."
When McAfee pushed on who'll be playing and whether the Chiefs will make Christmas their own like the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions have done for Thanksgiving, Goodell assured viewers it would be a rotating slate of matchups.
"Listen, a lot of teams now want to play on Christmas because it's a great platform. The Chiefs are interested... I don't think we'll do that. I think we'll continue to rotate."
It's difficult to fault Goodell for buying in after 2024. While the games were clunkers, they were also the most streamed football games in history. The NFL's live debut on Netflix garnered more than 65 million total viewers, per the company (though Beyonce's halftime performance in Houston undoubtedly played a role). That didn't dent the NBA's numbers, as an average of 5.2 million viewers tuned in throughout the day's lineup, peaking with a Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors matchup. Even so, while the NBA peaked at 7.2 million concurrent viewers, NFL reportedly hit more than 24 million for two games with MVP quarterbacks and wildly uncompelling outcomes.
Was 2024's broadcast success a sign of future stability? Or was it an anomaly powered by a new streaming experience, some star-studded matchups and the power of the Beyhive? The NFL is betting on the former, pushing the league closer and closer to a peak saturation point. Christmas and Thanksgiving are similar holidays, but there's more fatigue involved with Christmas. Goodell is betting couch-bound aunts and uncles will be happy to tune in to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts rather than running back a Rankin-Bass special for the third time in a week.
It's a bet that will likely pay off, because it's the NFL.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Roger Goodell declares lust to control holidays, promises 3 Christmas NFL games
Continue reading...
This was, evidently, a wonderful success in Goodell's eyes -- so much so he's expanding the NFL's grip on Christmas games.
Goodell took to ESPN's The Pat McAfee Show to present a basic state of the union for NFL fans. There, he told the world the league wouldn't merely keep running games on Christmas Day -- historically the NBA's turf -- but would expand its offering to a Thanksgiving-like three matchups each season.
"We will clearly have three games every year," Goodell responded to a softball question lobbed to him by someone other than Pat McAfee. "We feel the same way as you do."
"We didn't have the best games that day. It wasn't our best football," he continued. "When we brought Thursday Night Football in, it took coaches a while to figure out how to prepare their team, how to coach for it -- and the players, too. Now Thursday night games have really become competitive."
When McAfee pushed on who'll be playing and whether the Chiefs will make Christmas their own like the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions have done for Thanksgiving, Goodell assured viewers it would be a rotating slate of matchups.
"Listen, a lot of teams now want to play on Christmas because it's a great platform. The Chiefs are interested... I don't think we'll do that. I think we'll continue to rotate."
It's difficult to fault Goodell for buying in after 2024. While the games were clunkers, they were also the most streamed football games in history. The NFL's live debut on Netflix garnered more than 65 million total viewers, per the company (though Beyonce's halftime performance in Houston undoubtedly played a role). That didn't dent the NBA's numbers, as an average of 5.2 million viewers tuned in throughout the day's lineup, peaking with a Los Angeles Lakers-Golden State Warriors matchup. Even so, while the NBA peaked at 7.2 million concurrent viewers, NFL reportedly hit more than 24 million for two games with MVP quarterbacks and wildly uncompelling outcomes.
Was 2024's broadcast success a sign of future stability? Or was it an anomaly powered by a new streaming experience, some star-studded matchups and the power of the Beyhive? The NFL is betting on the former, pushing the league closer and closer to a peak saturation point. Christmas and Thanksgiving are similar holidays, but there's more fatigue involved with Christmas. Goodell is betting couch-bound aunts and uncles will be happy to tune in to the Jacksonville Jaguars and Indianapolis Colts rather than running back a Rankin-Bass special for the third time in a week.
It's a bet that will likely pay off, because it's the NFL.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Roger Goodell declares lust to control holidays, promises 3 Christmas NFL games
Continue reading...
