During The Christmas Holiday, Five NFL Games Will Be Played, None of Which Will Be Broadcast on National TV

Let this sink in. From December 25-27, five NFL games will be played, none of which will be broadcast nationally on TV, during some of the largest viewership windows. Netflix has two games on Christmas, Amazon has one, Peacock has one on the 27th, and the NFL Network has the other. Four games are streaming exclusively across three different platforms. Local NBC affiliates will show the exclusive game on Peacock, and all NFL games will be available OTA.

This shows just how much the NFL is relying on streaming services for distribution and for global reach, something broadcasters can’t provide. Netflix and Amazon have international rights to their Christmas games, except in a few territories, including Canada. All games will also be available internationally via DAZN, the league’s international partner for NFL Game Pass.

Netflix’s streams will not be in HDR, even though CBS is producing the games for Netflix. Peacock will be in HDR, as will Amazon’s, and NBC will produce Amazon’s Xmas game, just as they do for all of the TNF games.

I don’t expect record viewership this year for the NFL Xmas games, when compared to last year, since the 2025 matches aren’t as good. The Dallas Cowboys and Washington Commanders will kick things off at 1:00 PM on Netflix, followed by the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions at 4:00 PM. All but the Lions have been eliminated from the playoffs. Things will switch to Amazon Prime for the final game, which features the Kansas City Chiefs and Denver Broncos, but the Chiefs have already been eliminated, and Patrick Mahomes is out due to injury.