Christmas is going to be a little more intense and gloomy this year.
The NFL has announced that it plans to have two games will take place on Christmas Day, double the number it offered last year. It's a big shift for the league, which for years has shied away from scheduling holiday games.
This year it's even more unusual, though, because Christmas falls on a Wednesday.
The move is sure to frustrate some fans (and families) who see it as a distraction from the holiday celebration. That's unlikely to affect the ratings, however, because Thanksgiving football has become a tradition for many people looking to avoid helping out in the kitchen.
Speaking of furors, the NFL also announced this week that it will once again exclusively offer two games this season on streaming services. One of them is the first game of the season, too, when the Philadelphia Eagles will face an unnamed opponent in Brazil (the first game of the regular season in the South American league). That match will only stream on Peacock.
Meanwhile, Amazon Main Video rights are earned in an NFL Wild Card this season, meaning that if you want to catch that game, you'll have to add a different streaming service than you did for the 2023-2024 season to watch.
While the fans loudly protested to the streaming exclusive playoff game last year, the NFL once again signaled that this is the future of the league.
“As media consumption habits evolve, the NFL continues to work with our partners to put our games on digital platforms where our fans spend more of their time,” Hans said. Schroeder, executive vice president of media distribution for the NFL. in a statement. “The viewership success of Thursday Night Football on Prime Video and last season's historic Wild Card game on the Peacock are strong indicators that our streaming distribution aligns with our fans.”