Netflix Announce NFL Partnership with Landmark Melbourne Game in 2026

Netflix has announced an expansion of its NFL partnership for the 2026 season, highlighted by the broadcast of the first-ever regular season game to be played in Australia.

Netflix will broadcast a total of five games globally in 2026, covering key holiday windows, regular season milestones, and the annual NFL Honors ceremony.

NFL Australia & New Zealand General Manager Charlotte Offord noted that the region now boasts over 8.8 million fans, representing a 47% increase over the last three years. The league’s presence in Australia has matured rapidly since opening a local office in 2022, followed by the launch of national flag football and the NFL APAC Academy.

Historic Kick-off at the MCG

The partnership reaches a significant milestone in Week 1, when Netflix broadcasts the San Francisco 49ers versus the Los Angeles Rams live from the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG). Scheduled for Friday, 11 September at 10:35 am AEST, the event marks the first time a regular season NFL game has been staged in Australia. This fixture is part of a record-breaking slate of nine international games across four continents and seven countries in 2026.

Expanded Broadcast Slate

Beyond the Melbourne season opener, Netflix’s 2026 schedule includes several high-profile broadcasts designed to capture global audiences:

• Thanksgiving Eve: The platform will host the NFL’s first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game on 26 November, featuring the Green Bay Packers at the Los Angeles Rams.
• Boxing Day Tradition: Continuing its holiday presence, Netflix will air two games on 26 December, following a 2025 Christmas broadcast that averaged 26.5 million global viewers.
• Regular Season Finale: A new addition for 2026 is a Week 18 game on 10 January, featuring critical playoff implications.
• NFL Honors: Netflix will stream the league’s annual awards presentation globally during Super Bowl week in February.

Strategic International Growth

Along with Melbourne, the 2026 international schedule includes games in Rio de Janeiro, London, Paris, Madrid, Munich, and Mexico City.

By making these games available in over 200 countries, Netflix provides the NFL with the global infrastructure necessary to bypass traditional broadcast fragmentation and build direct relationships with an international fanbase.

While Netflix holds the global streaming rights for these specific fixtures, the league confirmed that further details regarding local broadcast partners for the remainder of the season in Australia and New Zealand will be announced in due course.

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