Netflix Just Ushered in the Future By Acing Its Big Christmas Day Test

Sports media criticism tends to be overly negative, thanks in large part to the reward structure in place when someone really wants to rear back and it give a broadcaster or live rights partner the business. That's why it's so remarkable that on the day Netflix was up for intense inspection as it broadcast its first-ever NFL games, the only knock seems to be that the scorebug was slightly off-center. That is, of course, extremely small potatoes and a wonderful result for the streaming service, which crushed the talk task with flying colors to announce its total arrival in the live-sports game with a thunderous statement.

There were no glitches or lags. There was no friction between booth and studio teams assembled piece by piece from other networks. Everything that could have gone wrong didn't—save for the Houston Texans failing to show up for the nightcap and causing viewers to dip out too early.

Netflix did not just pass the biggest exam, it aced it. And it more likely than not pulled back the curtain on a new era of NFL presentation —one in which they may own a day that takes a backseat to only the Super Bowl in terms of eyeballs and cultural capital.

Because the Netflix Christmas Day games felt like the Super Bowl. Especially as Beyonce performed her halftime show. Perhaps it's a prisoner-of-the-moment take to suggest Dec. 25 will supplant Thanksgiving Day as the holiday most synonymous with NFL football. But it really felt like that's what Netflix had aims on doing. If so, it was a genius gameplan with effective messaging to both viewers and the league.

Viewers now know, for sure, that they can expect a world-class presentation. Netflix felt polished, like they'd all done this before. The entire day was sleek and clean and up to the standards one would expect for a showcase of that magnitude. The public is now assured that watching the games is easy and there will be no streaming interruptions after notable issues with their last major live sporting attempt: Tyson vs. Paul. The commercial load felt very much like watching a linear telecast. In short, watching football on Netflix felt very normal. Like it's something we could have been doing for years. That it was the same as watching football on television.

They also proved to the NFL that, at the drop of a hat, they could assemble announcing teams, pregame shows and studio hosts that are every bit as worthy as the product. They proved that these are gigs even the biggest names are interested in and that they are willing to experiment with new things.

Matching other rights holders in content was the bar because Netflix, perhaps even more than Amazon, hangs its hat on delivery. The allure of a truly international audience, which will be explored even further as the streamer embarks on its WWE era next month could prove to be a gamechanger.

If nothing else, it's worth appreciating just how far streamers have come with the NFL in just a few short years. No one thinks about Thursday Night Football as any different than the late Sunday window anymore. There's no reason Christmas cannot become the new Thanksgiving for Netflix, the second-biggest football showcase of the season. There's no reason they can't continue to get A-listers on camera and at halftime to make it true monoculture event. And any hesitation the league may have about putting a Super Bowl on a streamer is evaporating by the day.

Sure, all of this is looking into the future. But the NFL on Netflix didn't have a past before yesterday. And it's present certainly looks good.