With the NFL season still more than two months away, Netflix is already making waves with its plans for the 2026 campaign. The streaming giant has secured exclusive rights to five regular-season games, and according to Elle Duncan, the company is taking a unique approach to its studio coverage.
Duncan, who is involved in Netflix's NFL production, recently revealed that the platform will keep the same studio crew for all five games. "We're not doing an 18-game slate," Duncan told Sports Media Watch. "We want every single one of our events to, yes, have a through-line and some consistency, and you'll get that with the desk and the talent."
Netflix's NFL slate kicks off with a Week 1 showdown in Australia between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. The streaming service will also present a Thanksgiving Eve matchup featuring the Green Bay Packers and Rams, a Christmas Day doubleheader, and a Week 18 regular-season game. This limited schedule contrasts sharply with the full-season packages held by traditional broadcasters like ABC, CBS, and FOX.
While Duncan didn't name any specific talent for the studio crew, it's expected that Netflix will bring in some notable names to anchor the coverage. The decision to maintain a consistent team across all five games suggests a focus on building a recognizable brand for its NFL broadcasts, similar to how Fox took its World Cup studio show on the road for the knockout rounds.
But don't expect Netflix to go all-in on the NFL just yet. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos made it clear in May that the company isn't looking to acquire a full season of games anytime soon. "We're not bidding on whole season of sports, including the NFL," Sarandos said.
That sentiment was echoed by Hans Schroeder, the NFL's executive vice president of media distribution, who emphasized that broadcast networks will remain a cornerstone for the league. "We think broadcast [networks] have been an incredible home," Schroeder said. "And, now, we also know fans are increasingly spending their time on other platforms as well. They tune into broadcast for the NFL and that's where we want to be. But we also want to be on these platforms with a limited amount of our games where we know our NFL fans are already as well."
Schroeder added that Netflix's massive user base makes it an attractive partner. "When we're going onto Netflix, we're going onto a platform that is already massively adopted and a huge number of viewers on that platform already, including a huge number of NFL fans," he said.
For now, Netflix's foray into the NFL is a toe-dip rather than a full plunge. The streaming giant's consistent studio crew approach signals a desire to make each game feel like a major event, but the limited slate ensures it won't overshadow the traditional broadcast partners. As the 2026 season approaches, all eyes will be on how Netflix executes its five-game experiment—and whether it leads to a bigger role down the road.
