Pittsburgh Penguins’ Bryan Rust (17) celebrates with Sidney Crosby (87) after scoring during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Philadelphia Flyers Monday, Dec. 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver George Pickens walks on the field as teammates work out prior to an NFL football game against the Baltimore Ravens, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)
FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen watches his three-run home run during the fifth inning of a baseball game against the Miami Marlins, Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed, File)
Penn State defensive end Abdul Carter (11) celebrates after sacking SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings during the second half in the first round of the College Football Playoff, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024, in State College, Pa. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
FILE – The Netflix logo is shown in this photo from the company’s website, in New York, Feb. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)
By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer
Netflix will have one of its biggest days Wednesday since the site launched in 1998 when it airs two NFL games for the first time.
“NFL Christmas Gameday on Netflix” begins with a two-hour pregame show at 11 a.m., before Pittsburgh hosts Kansas City. Baltimore faces Houston in the second game.
The streaming giant agreed to a three-year contract in May to carry Christmas Day games.
Where will the games be available?
Netflix’s 282.3 million subscribers in over 190 countries will be able to stream the games, marking the first time one outlet has distributed an NFL game globally. Netflix will have the games available in five languages — English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and German.
The games will also air on CBS affiliates in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Baltimore and Houston. NFL policy dictates that games on cable or being exclusively streamed must also be on an over-the-air station in the competing teams’ markets. It will also be available on mobile devices in the U.S. for those who have NFL+.
Why is the NFL putting Christmas Day games on a streaming platform?
The biggest reason is money. The league is getting $150 million from Netflix for the two games this season. It also continues the NFL’s moves into streaming — Thursday night games are in their third season on Amazon Prime Video and the “Sunday Ticket” package moved to YouTube TV last year.
But Christmas is on a Wednesday when games usually aren’t played.
That’s true, but the league wasn’t about to give up Christmas after seeing the ratings. Last year’s three games averaged 28.68 million viewers. The early afternoon contest between the Las Vegas Raiders and Chiefs led the way, averaging 29.48 million.
The Chiefs, Steelers, Ravens and Texans played on Saturday, giving them the same turnaround they would have if they played on Sunday and then Thursday.
What is at stake for the teams playing?
All four have clinched playoff spots in the AFC, but seeding remains up for grabs.
Kansas City (14-1) can clinch the top seed — which would mean a first-round bye and home field throughout the playoffs — with a win over the Steelers. Pittsburgh and Baltimore are tied atop the AFC North at 10-5, with the Steelers holding the tiebreaker due to a better conference record.
Houston (9-6) has wrapped up the AFC South and holds the fourth seed.
Has Netflix fixed its streaming problems from the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight?
Netflix hopes so. Brandon Riegg, Netflix’s vice president of nonfiction series and sports, said the system was stress tested, and then some, during the Nov. 14 bout, along with internet service providers reporting they were also overwhelmed by the surge that occurred before and during the fight.
The bout peaked at 65 million concurrent streams, including 38 million concurrent streams in the United States. According to the website Down Detector, nearly 85,000 viewers logged problems with outages or streaming leading up to and during the fight.
Could there be the same number streaming the games that there were during the fight?
Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
The largest audience for a streamed-exclusive NFL game was 23 million on Peacock for last season’s AFC wild-card game between the Miami Dolphins and Chiefs.
Nielsen will measure the ratings for the Christmas Day games, with early numbers expected late afternoon on Thursday.
When could there be surge in demand on Wednesday?
It will probably beat kickoff for both games, but especially around 5:45 p.m. EST. That would be near halftime of the Ravens-Texans game, and when Beyoncé will be performing.
What other celebrities will appear?
Mariah Carey will kick off the day with a taped performance of “All I Want for Christmas is You.”
There is no word if Taylor Swift will make the trip to Pittsburgh to watch her boyfriend, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. Swift has been spending time in Kansas City since she wrapped up her Eras Tour two weeks ago.
How many Christmas games will Netflix carry in the next two seasons?
The NFL will have at least two games on Dec. 25 in 2025 and ’26, with Netflix slated to have at least one each year. Amazon Prime Video will have a night game with Christmas on a Thursday next year.
Does Netflix have an interest in other sports?
Netflix’s worldwide partnership with World Wrestling Entertainment will begin on Jan. 6 when “Monday Night Raw” moves to the streaming service.
On Friday, Netflix secured the U.S. rights for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cup.
___
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Pittsburgh Penguins’ Rickard Rakell, left, celebrates his game-winning goal with Erik Karlsson (65), in the overtime period of an NHL hockey game against the Los Angeles Kings in Pittsburgh, Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. The Penguins won 3-2. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
FILE – Arizona Diamondbacks pitching coach Brent Strom walks to the dugout during a baseball game against the San Francisco Giants in San Francisco, Sunday, April 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
Mississippi State forward Cameron Matthews (4) pulls down an offensive rebound during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Pittsburgh, Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024, in Starkville, Miss. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis)
STARKVILLE, Miss. (AP) — KeShawn Murphy scored a season-high 20 points and Mississippi State led from start to finish in thumping No. 18 Pittsburgh 90-57 in the SEC/ACC Challenge. The Bulldogs opened a 35-point advantage in the second half and were never threatened. Michael Nwoko had his first double-double of the season with a career-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. Josh Hubbard scored 12. Jaland Lowe led Pittsburgh with 19 points and Brandin Cummings added 12 for the Panthers, who shot 31% and were outrebounded 49-27.
FILE – Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches during the second inning of a baseball game against the New York Yankees, Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
By DAVID BRANDT and RONALD BLUM AP Baseball Writers
PHOENIX (AP) — National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes was elected to the players’ association eight-man executive subcommittee on Wednesday just six months after his big league debut as three players were dropped who had advocated for the ouster of union deputy executive director Bruce Meyer.
Jack Flaherty, Ian Happ and Lucas Giolito were dropped along with Francisco Lindor, Lance McCullers Jr. and Austin Slater.
Flaherty, Giolito and Happ were among the players who in March advocated for the ouster of Meyer, the union’s chief labor negotiator. The effort, led by former union lawyer Harry Marino, proved unsuccessful.
Union head Tony Clark vowed to keep deliberations internal this summer.
Also new to the committee are American League Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal of Detroit, Toronto pitcher Chris Bassitt, San Diego infielder Jake Cronenworth, Tampa Bay pitcher Pete Fairbanks and Baltimore outfielder Cedric Mullins.
Texas infielder Marcus Semien and Cincinnati pitcher Brent Suter remain on the committee, with Semien the only holdover from the 2021-22 lockout.
The eight, all born in the U.S., were elected by representatives of the 30 big league teams, the Major League Baseball Players Association said. The two-year terms run through start of bargaining for a labor contract to replace the five-year deal that expires in December 2026.
The 22-year-old Skenes debuted on May 11 and went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA. The No. 1 pick in the 2023 amateur draft out of LSU started the All-Star Game about two months after his promotion.
Semien is the longest-serving member, having held a spot since December 2020. Suter was elected in 2022.
Bassitt and Semien are association representatives, Cronenworth and Skenes alternate associations representatives, Fairbanks and Suter pension committee representatives, and Mullins and Skubal alternate pension committee representatives.
Baltimore pitcher Ryan Long, New York Yankees pitcher Adam Stone and Athletics first baseman Danny Bautista Jr. were elected to fill the remaining year of two-year terms leading the representation of players with minor league contracts. They join Chicago Cubs catcher William Simoneit, who was elected to a two-year term in November 2023.
Long and Simoneit are association representatives, and Bautista and Stone alternate association representatives. Bautista’s father, Danny, was a big league outfielder from 1993-2004.
The union is having its annual series of meetings in Scottsdale this week.
___
Blum reported from New York.
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB