Netflix will air the NFL’s first-ever regular-season game from Australia during this year’s opening week, sources briefed on the move tell The Athletic.
The streaming platform will air the Week 1 game between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams on Thursday, Sept. 10, with kickoff at 8:35 p.m. ET from Melbourne Cricket Ground, the largest stadium in Australia. NBC is expected to handle production of the game.
The early-season deal bookends Netflix’s current broadcast relationship with the NFL, which has included two games on Christmas Day the past two seasons and will continue in December 2026. Fox will air a third Christmas game in prime time.
The NFL and Netflix declined to comment.
In March, Netflix exclusively broadcast the season-opening game of the 2026 MLB season, featuring the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants, as part of a three-event deal with MLB that includes the Home Run Derby on July 14 and the “MLB at Field of Dreams” game on Aug. 13. Netflix’s live sports portfolio also includes combat sports like boxing and MMA, along with the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031.
The NFL’s global expansion during the regular season features nine international games in 2026, with the league’s first-ever appearance in two cities: Paris, featuring the New Orleans Saints, and Rio de Janeiro, which will host the Baltimore Ravens and Dallas Cowboys.
There will also be international regular-season games played in Mexico City, Madrid and Munich, plus three games in London. The specific two-team pairings for the full slate of international games will be announced during the league’s schedule release, which will happen on Wednesday or Thursday, according to league sources.
The league is expected to have a slight increase in nationally broadcast games, with the addition of the Netflix game in Australia and other potential games moving to YouTube, including games that previously were part of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football” double-header allotment, whose rights went back to the league when ESPN acquired the NFL Network in exchange for the league receiving a 10 percent equity stake in ESPN.
The league has previously discussed its interest in reflecting fan consumption habits and adapting to streaming platforms such as YouTube, Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.
There has also been scrutiny of pro sports leagues’ accessibility through traditional television bundles versus individual subscription-only services.
The NFL has reiterated that 87 percent of its game inventory is available through broadcast outlets. As with its two Christmas Day games, the Netflix game in Australia in September will require a subscription to access it, except in local markets, where games will be available on over-the-air TV, the standard protocol for all NFL games airing nationally.