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Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sport
Michael Kadlick

Netflix Lands on NFL Fans' Naughty List Thanks to Brutal Christmas Day Broadcasts

Netflix NFL Emmitt Smith Clinton Portis Cowboys Commanders Zoom

The NFL once again turned over the controls to Netflix to broadcast its afternoon slate of Christmas Day games in 2025, handing the streaming service matchups between the Cowboys and Commanders and the Vikings and Lions to kick off the holiday.

Unfortunately, for a second straight season, the production has left fans displeased.

While the league has partnered with a handful of streaming platforms over the last several years to air some of its prime-time matchups—YouTube TV, Peacock, and Prime Video among them—none have drawn as much disdain as Netflix has.

Whether it be due to their mixed-and-matched groups of announcers, some oddly timed Zoom-hosted interviews with former players, or a scorebug that looks like it's AI-generated, Netflix became the butt of the joke—or was just outright ripped by fans—across social media on Thursday.

NFL fans ripped into Netflix for their production of 2025 Christmas Day games

Kay Adams and Michael Irvin
Kay Adams and Michael Irvin were among the group on broadcasters working with Netflix on Christmas Day. | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

The most specific gripe fans had with Netflix was its decision to have announcers Ian Eagle, Nate Burleson, and Matt Ryan interview former players Clinton Portis and Emmitt Smith—via Zoom—in the middle of the Cowboys–Commanders game.

Generally, though, fans were upset about the overall quality of the Netflix broadcast.

Here’s to hoping Netflix can iron things out and provide a broadcast a year from now, when they’ll inevitably be back hosting the NFL’s slate of Christmas Day games.

More NFL on Sports Illustrated


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Netflix Lands on NFL Fans' Naughty List Thanks to Brutal Christmas Day Broadcasts.

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