Netflix prepared to stream Steelers-Chiefs Christmas Day game, NFL says
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — The NFL says it is "incredibly confident" in Netflix's ability to handle the Christmas Day game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Kansas City Chiefs.
Netflix is set to stream both of the NFL's Christmas Day games. First, the Steelers host the Chiefs at Acrisure Stadium at 1 p.m. before the Baltimore Ravens travel to face the Houston Texans at 4:30 p.m.
It will be the streaming service's first time airing NFL games, but the platform's struggles during the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight last month are fresh in the minds of viewers. The NFL says Netflix will be ready.
"I think they have done an incredible job with all their preparations, every piece of what they're putting in place," NFL EVP of Media Distribution Hans Schroeder told ProFootballTalk. "The core of it is how the game is going to be produced. They're going to be produced by CBS. They're as good as a live-sports production entity as there is in the world with a ton of history of doing the NFL and many other sports. So, unlike even the fight that people look at the fight and maybe look at streaming, there are some production areas that I think they will work through, and that certainly will be in CBS' hands and we're incredibly excited about."
The Paul vs. Tyson fight on Netflix had troubles with the video quality or interruptions during the match. The streaming service said 60 million households watched the match.
After the fight, Netflix acknowledged the complaints from people on social media.
"The boxing mega-event dominated social media, shattered records, and even had our buffering systems on the ropes," Netflix posted to X.
Schroeder told ProFootballTalk that there were "some bumps certainly with Netflix, but everything we've seen, we think their plan and the work we're doing alongside them, we're incredibly confident in and we feel incredibly well prepared for a great day on Christmas Day."
Locally, the game will be televised on KDKA-TV.
