The countdown to Netflix’s NFL Christmas Gameday is on!
In the highly anticipated global event, football fans worldwide will have access to two matchups — the Kansas City Chiefs against the Pittsburgh Steelers, followed by the Baltimore Ravens playing the Houston Texans — for the first time on Netflix.
“We cover sports, but sports are also part of the real world, right?” Steve Wyche, chief national reporter for the NFL Network, told Blavity’s Shadow and Act. Wyche will be reporting live from the sidelines during the matchup between the Ravens and Texans.
“One thing I’ve learned over my career is just understanding kind of what people may be going through,” he continued. “Be it at the moment, personal, whatever. The time capsule of where you are is important in delivering things, and this Christmas Day game is part of that. We’re delivering something to families worldwide who may be familiar with it, like we are in the U.S., and England, and Canada, and Mexico– to folks who may not be familiar with it. Like I said, it’s also global. There can be players in this game who come from Polynesian backgrounds, who come from Nigerian backgrounds, and so these are things you have to be cognizant of. That’s why I think it’s such a great thing that Netflix is doing this. It’s allowing us to showcase this great American sport, which is — other than worldwide soccer, Premier League, things like that —the biggest thing. But also, it’s a holiday. There are people with lineages from all over the world that we get to display on this kind of historic thing, right? This first, global streaming game on this holiday. So it’s all just a part of it and understanding our job in delivering to people who could be kicking back or have their whole family there — you know, just enjoying a great afternoon.”
Who will perform during the halftime shows?
Along with the games, fans have been buzzing since news dropped that both Beyoncé and Mariah Carey will headline the halftime shows for the games. A pre-taped performance by Mariah Carey, who has been dubbed “the Queen of Christmas,” is set to air during the halfway point in the game between the Chiefs and the Steelers.
On the other hand, Beyoncé will perform her halftime show live from her hometown in Houston as the Texans take on the Ravens in the Lone Star State. It will be her first live performance of tracks from her eighth studio album, Cowboy Carter, which was released on March 29.
“For the game I’m at, it’s about the quarterbacks,” Wyche said of standout moments he’s anticipating during NFL Christmas Gameday. “You’ve got C.J. Stroud, last year’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, going up against last year’s MVP, Lamar Jackson. These are two great teams. There’s playoff circumstances, very much — even though the Texans have already won their division, now they’re working on seeding so they can improve their lot in the postseason. And there’s just so many things that are going to tell themselves.”
He added, “The Houston Texans have this great roster on both sides of the ball. The Baltimore Ravens have been the standard for years, but they’ve got to get to the Super Bowl, right? This is where they’ve been before. They’ve got to take the next step. So that’s part of the big-picture stuff. And then with me on the sidelines again, I’ve got to update people, be it on injuries … I’ve got to tell stories that maybe they haven’t heard before about certain players who may not get talked about so much. And even those that do, finding a little tale that just adds a little bit of that lagniappe onto the dish that we’re serving over three and a half hours.”
How this has the ability to change the future of sports indefinitely
NFL Christmas Gameday is a first in that it wil put sports fans to the test. The programming will compete with the NBA’s Christmas programming, which fans have supported over the years.
Wyche said this is a moment in sports history that testifies to keeping up with the current way consumers enjoy their games.
“First off, you got Beyoncé at halftime, right? You’ve got Mariah Carey involved. There’s just a lot of different things that are part of it,” he said. “But this is, again, simple economics. It is supply and demand. And what we’ve learned in the media world is that more and more of us, including myself, we consume entertainment, information [and] content via streaming. The standard way of consumption, which is how I grew up, where you watch the evening news at 6, you watch the national news at 7, or Jeopardy or whatever, and then you watch your sitcoms or your sporting events — that’s changing.”
“We have the ability to watch things on our time. We can stop a show midway and pick it up later, right? So the fact that Netflix is getting involved in this with the biggest sport in North America, with the NFL, it’s just what the world is. Netflix is recognizing this is what the world wants. In North America and in the United States specifically, every year, 90% of the most viewed broadcasts are from the National Football League. You throw in a Beyoncé, you throw in a Mariah Carey, and then great talent, like a Nate Burleson and a J.J. Watt — now, you’re mixing all of this stuff together. So, again, this is a great kind of vortex of supply [and] demand, and you’ve got the NFL…that’s what the people want. So you’re meeting that all together on this large streaming platform, which has all of these hundreds of millions of global subscribers. It, again, is just a perfect confluence that, with these four great teams playing this week, should really turn out to be something special.”
Adding this monumental moment to his career trajectory as a sideline sports reporter for the NFL is a dream come true for Wyche. It is another way for him to forge the path forward for Black people like himself working in the sports industry.
“As a Black, trained journalist, especially as a Black male [who is a] trained journalist, we don’t get tapped on very much,” he said. “You turn on NFL coverage, sports coverage, you see a lot of Black people, but they’re usually former athletes. So a lot of times, the people who make these hires or place people a certain way have us, as Black people, pigeonholed into certain roles. As a Black male, getting to do sidelines in a game like this, you don’t see it — especially one with some gray hair.”
“So I understand this is much more than about me,” Wyche continued. “I am trying to do something, so the next time this is done, Netflix or whomever says, ‘You know, that guy Steve Wyche did a good job, and he’s been telling us about this person over here. Let’s give them a shot.’ We hear about pipelines and things like that; I don’t want to be the cork in the pipeline. I want to be the pathway. And so, again, I understand this is very important for a lot of reasons, that I come out and perform well, interact well and deliver the viewers of Netflix on this game something special.”
Where can I watch the games?
For Netflix subscribers, access to NFL Christmas Gameday Live starts with the first game between the Chiefs and Steelers, which kicks off on Dec. 25 at 1 p.m. ET, followed by the Ravens vs. Texans starting at 4:30 p.m. ET.
