Connect with us

Published

on

Netflix said on Wednesday it would stream two National Football League games on Christmas Day this year, doubling down on efforts to add more live programming on its streaming service.

It will also stream at least one game on Christmas Day in 2025 and 2026 as part of the exclusive three-season agreement.

The deal marks the first time Netflix has licensed the rights to one of the world’s biggest sports leagues and also the first time it would show live football.

Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria said on Wednesday “there are no live annual events, sports or otherwise, that compare with the audiences NFL football attracts.”

The company did not disclose financial terms of the deal.

Bloomberg News, which first reported on the negotiations, saidNetflixwill pay less than $150 million per game.

The NFL is the most-watched sports league in the US.

This year’s Super Bowl game between Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers drew a record 123.7 million US viewers.

“Netflix is no longer just experimenting with sports, they’re buying in,” said Ross Benes, senior analyst at Emarketer.

The streaming pioneer has turned to live events and sports in recent months to retain users and build out its advertising business as growth saturates in top market US.

Netflix signed a more than $5 billion rights deal in January to be the exclusive home of World Wrestling Entertainment’s RAW and live-streamed a tennis face-off between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in March.

Still, the NFL deal marks a new area for the company that just last year suggested it did not plan to compete for sports rights due to the hefty investments they require.

Its rivals have also pounced on rights to big sports leagues in recent years. Amazon Prime holds rights to Thursday Night Football and Apple TV+ hosts Friday Night Baseball and Major League Soccer.

“2024 will be looked at as the year the sports pendulum began to favor streaming,” Benes said.

Continue Reading

US

How much of the White House is Trump demolishing?

Published

on

By

How much of the White House is Trump demolishing?

👉 Follow Trump100 on your podcast app 👈 

Donald Trump begins bulldozing much of the White House as his plans to build a mega ballroom begin – without planning permission, nor true clarity as to how it’s all being funded.

There are aesthetic questions, historical questions and ethical questions. We dig into what they are.

And – who is the young Democratic socialist about to become New York City’s first Muslim mayor? We tell you everything you need to know about Zohran Mamdani.

You can also watch all episodes on our YouTube channel – and watch David Blevins’ digital video on the White House ballroom here.

Email us on trump100@sky.uk with your comments and questions.

Continue Reading

Sports

Sharks see into future as Celebrini, Smith key win

Published

on

By

Sharks see into future as Celebrini, Smith key win

NEW YORK — Mired in a six-game losing streak to start another rebuilding season, the San Jose Sharks had two young franchise cornerstones deliver exactly the kind of performances the team is hoping to get from them for the next decade or more.

Macklin Celebrini had a hat trick and set up Will Smith‘s overtime goal to give the 2024 No. 1 pick his second five-point game early in his second NHL season, and the Sharks are no longer the only team in the league without a victory. Oh, and it came at Madison Square Garden against the New York Rangers, who were looking to win at home for the first time this fall.

“It’s good to see the young guys firing like that,” said enforcer Ryan Reaves, whose early fight against Matt Rempe on Thursday night fired up the Sharks. “We need those guys to step up in big games, and they both did.”

Reaves threw his helmet onto the ice to celebrate Celebrini’s third goal of the night late in the second period.

“I was just making sure there was something on the ice for him,” Reaves said. “I didn’t know how far up the Sharkie fans were, if they had good arms or not, so I was just making sure there was one on there for him.”

There were a few others to clean up, though many more when Taylor Raddysh of the Rangers got his third for dueling hat tricks at the Garden. But Celebrini stole the show by assisting on Smith’s goal in the third period and then again in OT.

“It speaks for itself, to be honest, to do that at MSG on a huge stage,” said Smith, who had four points in his own right. “In a game where we needed him, he showed up.”

Counting a point from 2025 No. 2 pick Michael Misa, the Sharks got 10 from players age 20 or younger for the second time since April. The last team to do that before them was Toronto on Jan. 8, 1986.

“When you draft them that high, you expect them to perform like that and they’ve proven time and time again why they were drafted that high and why all that was going to be put on their shoulders,” Reaves said. “It’s great to see.”

It came against the backdrop of San Jose starting 0-4-2 – the fourth consecutive season the team has lost at least four in a row at the beginning. After his team’s morning skate, second-year coach Ryan Warsofsky offered an optimistic message.

“We’re not going to quit,” Warsofsky said. “There’s still a lot of hockey to be played. We’re going to keep going. We’re going to keep pushing and challenging and we’re going to get out of this together.”

It was fitting that the most important building blocks led the way. The Sharks have not made the playoffs for the past six years and are not expected to again this season, but they do hope to take a step forward in the process of growing into a contender again.

In an effort to do that, they added veterans like Reaves and Stanley Cup champion defenseman Dmitry Orlov to the mix.

“We have a great group,” said Barclay Goodrow, who won the Cup with Tampa Bay in 2020 and ’21 and landed with the Sharks when they claimed him off waivers from the Rangers in the summer of ’24. “Lots of youth that keeps us old guys younger. It’s fun coming to the rink every day.”

Celebrini and Smith had some fun out on the town in New York City during this swing, which also included a team outing to see “Book of Mormon” on Broadway. A song from the show played in the victorious visiting locker room after the 6-5 win.

“Felt like it brought the boys together a little bit,” Reaves said. “It might be the new one.”

Continue Reading

Politics

Polymarket bets that Sam Bankman-Fried gets pardon surge to 12%

Published

on

By

Polymarket bets that Sam Bankman-Fried gets pardon surge to 12%

Polymarket bets that Sam Bankman-Fried gets pardon surge to 12%

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried’s odds on Polymarket of being pardoned by US President Trump have more than doubled to around 12% after Changpeng Zhao was pardoned.

Continue Reading

Trending