NFL is ‘incredibly confident’ Netflix can handle Steelers’ Christmas game (even if no one else does)

The NFL hopes to avoid Netflix holidays and the TV out the window. After the streaming giant suffered huge streaming problems when it aired Mike Tyson’s Slap ‘n’ Tickle with an influencer, many football fans have good reason to be concerned about the NFL’s ability to pull off a clean broadcast. Netflix is ​​scheduled to air two NFL games on Christmas Day, including the Steelers hosting the Chiefs. What else can league officials do other than assure the public that they have the utmost confidence in their broadcast partner?

“I think (Netflix) has done an incredible job with all of their preparation,” NFL executive vice president of media sales Hans Schroeder told reporters yesterday, via Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk. “There have certainly been some hiccups at Netflix, but we’re incredibly confident in everything we’ve seen, their plan and the work we’re doing with them and feel incredibly prepared for a great day on Christmas Day.” Fans”.

And of course, all NFL fans collectively breathed a sigh of relief. Because Schroeder’s main argument seemed to focus on broadcasting rather than streaming. What fans are worried about isn’t the production value, but the ability to watch the game at all. And ideally, to watch the game unpixelated, without an endless buffer cycle.

Ted Sarandos, co-CEO of Netflix, said of the streaming problems during the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul dispute: “We pushed the (Internet service provider), every ISP in the world, to the limits of their own capacity.” We “We had a control room up in Silicon Valley that, due to unprecedented demand, redesigned the entire Internet to keep it going during this fight.”

That sounds like a load of nonsense to me, but it doesn’t sound very reassuring either. If Netflix had to remodel the entire internet just to watch Mike Tyson endure it, what does it have to do to survive two full NFL games with top-tier franchises in the middle of the playoffs and Super Bowl hunt ?

Saying incredible and unbelievable amounts may sound reassuring, but the proof is obvious. Not that it ultimately matters. The NFL signed a three-year deal with Netflix to stream games on Christmas Day, which wasn’t supposed to be the case.

“We feel incredibly prepared and are incredibly excited about what this partnership will look like in the future,” said Schroeder.

The rest of us, not so much.