Netflix is reportedly eyeing ESPN analyst Mina Kimes for a studio role in its first NFL broadcast on Christmas Day. The streaming giant is set to host an NFL doubleheader featuring the Kansas City Chiefs vs Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens vs Houston Texans, as it continues to expand into live-streaming sports events.
According to the New York Post, Netflix officials are keen on having Kimes, one of ESPN’s most respected analysts, front their studio show. While no deal has been finalized yet, sources suggest that ESPN would support Kimes if she decides to take up the offer.
Kimes, who joined ESPN in 2014, has appeared on several shows including ‘NFL Live’, ‘Around the Horn’, ‘First Take’, ‘Highly Questionable’, and ‘The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz’. She also hosts her own NFL-focused podcast, ‘The Mina Kimes Show featuring Lenny’, named after her dog.
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Netflix had its sights set on Kay Adams, the host of ‘Up and Adams,’ to be the studio anchor for its NFL Christmas doubleheader, as reported by The Post back in September. Adams is known for her previous role as a co-host on NFL Network’s ‘Good Morning Football’.
However, Netflix faced criticism after technical issues plagued the stream of the Paul vs Tyson fight, with viewers expressing their frustration over stream lag and app crashes during the event due to server overload. Following these glitches, the NFL reached out to Netflix for reassurance about the upcoming Christmas Day games, reports the Express US.
“The NFL did check in with Netflix following the Tyson-Paul fight to ask about the problems and assess the likelihood that they could repeat themselves on Christmas,” ESPN’s Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler revealed.
Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce will be in action on Netflix (
(Image: Getty))
“Netflix said the fight reached 60 million homes, and apparently part of the explanation to the league was that the unprecedented scale for them of broadcasting a live sporting event contributed to some of the challenges they faced.”
“But the NFL came away from the conversations reassured that Netflix had figured out what went wrong and that it won’t be a problem for Chiefs-Steelers or Ravens-Texans on Dec. 25.”
With the current viewership record for a Christmas game at an average of 29.2 million, the NFL is gearing up for a potentially record-breaking day, hoping that the Netflix stream will boost those numbers.
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