• Loading stock data...
Thursday, June 19, 2025

NFL Nears Deal for YouTube Game That Could Break Streaming Records

The NFL’s delicate balance of striking new media-rights deals while keeping its incumbents happy is taking another big step. 

Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

The NFL’s push to maximize exposure during the 2025 season is bringing in a new, but familiar, partner.

The league is closing in on an agreement to have the Google-owned YouTube, distributors of the residential version of NFL Sunday Ticket, carry the Sept. 5 game in Brazil involving the Chargers as the home team. The deal, according to sources, will see the opening-week game from São Paulo include the Chiefs, the NFL’s top viewership draw, as the visiting team.

By placing the game for free on YouTube, which boasts more than 2.5 billion monthly active users around the world, the audience is likely to challenge—if not surpass—the league’s streaming record of an average of 24.3 million viewers in the U.S., set last year in the nightcap of a Christmas Day doubleheader on Netflix. Production details for the Brazil game, however, remain unknown, and like other streamers, YouTube does not have the in-house capabilities to produce an NFL broadcast.

The Brazil contest, shown last year on NBCUniversal’s Peacock, is additionally a centerpiece of the NFL’s expanding international strategy

While YouTube prepares for its third season of carrying out-of-market games, the move sees the NFL continue to grow its relationship with streamers—in turn helping the league attract younger viewers. Amazon is beginning its fourth season of exclusive Thursday Night Football coverage in 2025, as it draws ever closer to linear-type audiences and is poised for a further boost this year as measurement methodologies expand

Netflix is also a critical part of the NFL’s rights holder mix, and the league in turn is a pillar of the company’s rising sports presence. 

Schedule Watching

The NFL, meanwhile, is poised for a blockbuster run of publicity next week with the release of the 2025 regular-season schedule, which will feature a number of critical changes from last year. 

The full unveiling of the schedule will happen during the evening of May 14, but be preceded by a series of individual network announcements of key games between May 12 and earlier on the 14th. Those announcements will coincide with those networks’ upfront presentations to advertisers of their programming plans for the coming year, and reinforce the NFL’s status as the top content in U.S. television, regardless of genre. 

Within that, the league will release its international schedule on May 13, including the Brazil game. 

The placement of the Chiefs in the second game of the 2025 season, while the Eagles will host the kickoff contest as defending Super Bowl champions, inverts the start of the 2024 schedule that had Philadelphia playing in Brazil following a season opener in Kansas City. The move also keeps both of those top-drawing teams squarely in the national limelight. 

Linkedin
Whatsapp
Copy Link
Link Copied
Link Copied

What to Read

Washington's Ben Gorsage, right, and Orland Park Sandburg's Mateo Ramiro-Garcia tangle at the start of the Class 3A state 800-meter run Saturday, May 31, 2025 at Eastern Illinois University in Charleston. Gorsage took third place, followed by Ramiro-Garcia in fourth.

Dozens of Olympic Sports Have Been Cut in Wake of House v...

Tennis, track and field, and swimming and diving appear heavily impacted.

Rays on Verge of $1.7B Sale Following Stadium Deal Collapse

The team’s owner walked away from a stadium deal just months ago.

Featured Today

Dec 5, 2024; Miami, FL, USA; FIFA president Gianni Infantino presents the FIFA Club World Cup trophy during the Club Word Cup draw at Telemundo Studios.

Revamped Club World Cup Is FIFA’s Billion-Dollar Gamble

The revamped soccer event debuts amid controversy.
Jun 10, 2025; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; United States head coach Mauricio Pochettino stands during the anthem against the Switzerland during the first at Geodis Park
June 14, 2025

Gold Cup Is Complicated for USMNT—but U.S. Soccer Has Its Eyes on..

Uncertain tournament success isn’t fazing forward-looking U.S. soccer.
Jan 24, 2017; Davidson, NC, USA; The Davidson Wildcats student section cheers during the first half against the Duquesne Dukes at McKillop Court at John M. Belk Arena. Davidson defeated Duquesne 74-60.
June 6, 2025

Every College Wants a Flashy Basketball GM Hire Right Now

The role is more important than ever, and the definition is ever-evolving.
August 31, 2024; Columbus, Ohio, USA; The Goodyear blimp flies over Ohio Stadium during the first half of Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game between the Akron Zips and the Ohio State Buckeyes.
June 6, 2025

Why the Goodyear Blimp Is at Every Major Sports Event

The airship wasn’t built to cover sports. Now it’s a regular presence.

Fire Rekindled? WNBA’s Portland Expansion Team Eyes Original Name

WNBA trademarks hint at Portland Fire revival as league expands and honors history.
Club World Cup
June 18, 2025

Club World Cup Attendance Plummets for Weekday Games: 3,700 in Orlando, ‘Almost..

Chelsea’s manager bemoaned an “almost empty” stadium in Atlanta.
June 18, 2025

Dana White’s Next Frontier: Making Jiu-Jitsu Mainstream

The TKO Group Holdings–owned competition expands once again.
Sponsored

Game On: Portfolio Players Stories, Brought to You by E*TRADE from Morgan Stanley

Ted Leonsis unpacks basketball’s global rise, media rights, and portfolio ownership.
June 18, 2025

Premier League Embraces NFL-Style Flex Scheduling for 2025–26

The league warns of additional games “moving at relatively short notice.”
Sophie Cunningham
June 18, 2025

Fever and Sun Hit With Tiny Fines After Wild Melee

WNBA coaches have long complained about a lack of transparency in fines.
Lydia Ko
June 17, 2025

PGA Championship Ties U.S. Open for Richest Purse in Women’s Golf

This week’s tournament will offer $12 million in prize money.
June 17, 2025

Rolapp Weighs In on PGA Tour–LIV Golf Talks, NFL After Goodell

Brian Rolapp is becoming CEO as commissioner Jay Monahan steps down.