How to watch and what you should know

How to watch and what you should know

This Christmas Day, viewers will be treated to an NFL doubleheader…if they can tune in.

There are two NFL games on Christmas: the Kansas City Chiefs face the Pittsburgh Steelers at 1 p.m. ET, and the Baltimore Ravens face the Houston Texans later in the afternoon.

The Chiefs, Steelers and Texans have already secured the playoff spots. The Ravens are currently in position to be the fifth seed in the AFC heading into Week 16.

With Christmas falling on a Wednesday, football fans can catch NFL games on four days in Week 17 – Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

But here’s the catch: both holiday games will be streaming on Netflix for the first time ever. Fans aren’t particularly optimistic about Netflix’s ability to deliver a good live broadcast following the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson fight, which was marred by streaming issues like frequent buffering and outright crashes.

Don’t have a Netflix subscription and want to watch the games at a bar or restaurant? This may not be possible. As CNBC’s Alex Sherman reported, DirecTV, which normally distributes the games to commercial outlets, opted not to pay the six-figure licensing fee for the Netflix games. Therefore, establishments wishing to show the games must subscribe to the EverPass streaming service.

Sounds complicated? Let’s break down exactly how you can watch NFL games on Christmas Day.

NFL Week 17 Schedule

Wednesday December 25th

Chiefs (13-1) at Steelers (10-4), 1 p.m. ET (Netflix)

Ravens (9-5) vs. Texans (9-5), 4:30 p.m. ET (Netflix)

Thursday, December 26th

Seahawks (8-6) at Bears (4-10), 8:15 p.m. ET (Prime Video)

Saturday December 28th

Chargers (8-6) at Patriots (3-11), 1 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

Broncos (9-5) at Bengals (6-8), 4:30 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

Cardinals (7-7) at Rams (8-6), 8:15 p.m. ET (NFL Network)

Sunday, December 29th

Colts (6-8) at Giants (2-12), 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Jets (4-10) at Bills (11-3), 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Titans (3-11) at Jaguars (3-11), 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Packers (10-4) at Vikings (12-2), 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Raiders (2-12) at Saints (5-9), 1 p.m. ET (FOX)

Panthers (3-11) at Buccaneers (8-6), 1 p.m. ET (CBS)

Dolphins (6-8) at Browns (3-11), 4:05 p.m. ET (CBS)

Cowboys (6-8) and Eagles (12-2), 4:25 p.m. ET (FOX)

Falcons (7-7) at Commanders (9-5), 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC)

How to watch NFL Christmas games

The two NFL Christmas games are included in all Netflix plans. The tiers offered by Netflix and their prices are as follows:

  • Standard with ads: $6.99 per month
  • Standard: $15.49 per month
  • Premium: $22.99 per month

The games will also be broadcast on local television in the competing teams’ markets of Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Houston.

Please note that you must watch the games either live or shortly before they are broadcast. NFL Christmas games will expire three hours after the end of the live stream in the US and 24 hours after the end of the live stream outside the US

NFL Christmas Games Entertainment

The NFL Christmas games will feature some notable artists and broadcasters.

A taped replay of Mariah Carey’s performance of “All I Want for Christmas Is You” will air before both games. And at halftime of the Ravens-Texans game, none other than Houston native and NFL Super Bowl halftime show veteran Beyoncé performed.

CBS produces both Netflix games, with NFL Network providing pregame, postgame and halftime coverage.

For the early game, Ian Eagle will provide play-by-play coverage while CBS announcers Nate Burleson and JJ Watt provide additional commentary. CBS’s Melanie Collins and NFL Network’s Stacey Dales will serve as sideline reporters.

In the second game, Noah, son of NBC Sports’ Ian Eagle, will do the play-by-play, with Fox Sports’ Kirk Olsen in the booth. Sideline reporters will be NFL Network’s Jamie Erdahl and Sam Wyche.

Want to watch college football on Christmas Day? There will be no games on Christmas this season.

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