The National Football League will play two games on Christmas Day this coming season, whilst also announcing two games to be streamed exclusively by distribution partners.

Despite Christmas Day falling on a Wednesday — this season, the NFL’s EVP of media distribution, Hans Schroeder, confirmed at the Annual League Meeting that two matchups would be slated for the holiday.

“What we’ve seen the last couple years is really some unprecedent growth, not just on Christmas Day, but on Thanksgiving, too,” he explained. “The last couple of years have had the highest viewing numbers for a in the regular season and that mindset, that opportunity, that belief we have that football brings people together is even truer on these big holidays. So what we’re going to do is play a couple of games — as we have for well over a decade — and maybe even more than that, on the Saturday of Week 16 and then come back and play a couple of games on Christmas Day.”

Commissioner Roger Goodell cited dealing with the recent COVID pandemic as proof that an altered schedule, and short week, need not bring added player health concerns.

“COVID was a learning opportunity, and I think it was the first time we played on a Wednesday,” he commented. “It will not be a regular thing, but will occur when Christmas falls on a Wednesday. The time period between games has been done before and we have not seen any elevation of injuries.”

Last season’s Christmas triple-header drew historic ratings, with all three games ranking among the all-time top five Christmas Day NFL games, dating back to 1988. Those games were played on a Monday, however, a far cry from scheduling midweek encounters.

Schroeder also announced two updates on the media distribution of games for the 2024 NFL season, with Peacock (NBCUniversal) securing the rights to exclusively stream the Week 1 game from São Paulo, Brazil, on Friday, September 6th. The league’s first-ever regular season game in South America, which is already confirmed as featuring the Philadelphia Eagles, will also be the first played on the Friday night of their opening weekend in over 50 years.

Meanwhile, Amazon Prime Video — the home of Thursday Night Football — will add an Wild Card game to their schedule this season. This will mark the second time an NFL playoff game has been available exclusively via a streaming service following last season’s Wild Card game on Peacock.

“As media consumption habits evolve, the NFL continues to work with our partners to put our games on digital platforms where our fans are increasingly spending their time,” Schroeder explained. “The viewership success of both Thursday Night Football on Prime Video and the historic Wild Card game on Peacock last season are strong indicators our streaming distribution is resonating with our fans.”

In keeping with a long-standing NFL policy, both games will be available on free-to-air broadcast television in the local markets of competing teams, as well as on mobile devices via NFL+.