A familiar and major sports betting operator will play a large role in Netflix’s first foray into broadcasting NFL games.
FanDuel will join Verizon as the two primary sponsors of the streaming service’s live Christmas Day Kansas City Chiefs-Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens-Houston Texans games, global media brand Ad Age told Sports Business Journal this week.
Netflix announced Tuesday that it has already sold out advertising inventory for both games.
FanDuel is the official sportsbook partner of Netflix’s Dec. 25 doubleheader and will sponsor a pregame segment that will include predictions and betting odds.
The sports betting and iGaming operator will also have a featured in-game ad placement.
“We’ve really staked out Christmas Day, owning the whole day in terms of those two games, and then the entertainment we’re going to pack around that,” Netflix president of advertising Amy Reinhard said.
Foray into live sports
Netflix, known for TV shows, movies, and documentaries, is making a hard run at live sports.
The streaming service recently announced that it reached 70 million subscribers to its ad-supported, lower-priced tier.
This will fit right into major sporting events. The NFL is king when it comes to ratings and interest, helped by currently 38 U.S. states offering legal sports betting.
Netflix landed a deal with the NFL earlier this year to broadcast at least one live Christmas Day game for the next three years. The streaming company is spending $75 million per game for broadcasting rights in 2024.
Netflix will already be getting the attention of sports fans on Friday when the streaming service will broadcast an exhibition boxing match live between former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media influencer/entrepreneur Jake Paul.
This has already become a big draw for sportsbooks, which are offering odds on who wins the fight and how. Tyson, 58, is getting the bulk of the action and money as a nearly +200 underdog against the 27-year-old Paul.
Big brand
FanDuel is one of the most recognizable and profitable sports betting brands in the U.S. Parent company Flutter announced Tuesday that U.S. operator controlled 43% of the market’s net gaming revenue and produced $1.25 billion in revenue in Q3.
FanDuel is an official sponsor of the NFL and has deals with seven of the league’s teams.
Pro football drives, and sometimes sinks, sports betting operator revenue. FanDuel’s 51% year-over-year revenue growth in Q3 came from favorable NFL outcomes in September, but October produced a customer-friendly run that has “more than offset” the strong performance.
That shifted some during Week 10, when underdogs ruled the betting landscape.
