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During the Olympics, many cruise ship passengers were angry about which games they could and could not see.
The truth is: cruise companies make deals and pay for every video stream they get.
When it comes to most sports, ships sailing from U.S. ports often offer international broadcasts. So for an event like the Olympics, a cruise line may not offer the NBC/Peacock broadcast that focuses more on American athletes.
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The sporting events offered on board depend on both the cruise company and the ship. Carnival and Royal Caribbean ships with sports bars, which include most but not all ships in their fleets, have greater rights to sporting events than ships without sports bars.
In some cases, a cruise company may not be able to air a popular sporting event because it is not aired on the channel that normally airs that sport. Major events like the Super Bowl are very likely to be aired commercial-free—and are very popular with viewers—because the ship gets these programs from an international broadcaster.
Often times, both Royal Caribbean and Carnival show a selection of games, not all of them. This can be frustrating for fans of certain teams, and it can often be difficult to know which games will be broadcast on the ship.
Carnival brand ambassador John Heald recently shared some news about the games his cruise lines will be airing during the NFL and college football season.
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The carnival will feature a lot of American football games.
Heald shared Carnival’s plans for the upcoming NFL season on his Facebook page.
“Well, let’s talk about football. Not the kind I watch, but the kind with attacking midfielders and wide wingers wearing Joan Collins-style shoulders like she did on the TV show Dysentery,” he wrote, deliberately misspelling the show’s name, “Dynasty.”
“To all NFL fans, we are very excited to announce that for the 2024-25 NFL season, we will be offering games broadcast on ESPN with NFL Syndication and Sunday Ticket. This means we will be offering Monday night and Thursday night games.”
That means the carnival should have almost every NFL game, except Christmas games, streaming on Netflix.
“These games will be shown in sports bars, casino bars, pubs, breweries (not in cabins), and other places around the ship,” Held added. “Some games will be shown on the big screen but not all games as we also have a great schedule of dive movies.”
“We will of course be showing the Super Bowl on the big screens in the Lido and in the main theater as we watch the Cleveland Brownpants win.”
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The Carnival Has Big Plans for College Football
The carnival will also feature a selection of college football games.
“Now we move on to college football,” he wrote. “This season, we have an agreement to show 12 games a week during the 14-week season, which is more relevant to the home ports on our U.S. itineraries.
“Now I have no idea what that means because my knowledge of college sports is probably as good as many of you reading this are of cricket. However, I am sure this is great news for college football fans.”
Reactions to Held’s comments were largely positive.
“That’s really cool to hear. Some people can’t live without football. I love watching college football,” wrote Donna Shipp Golonska.
Read also: Top Travel Agents Share How to Get the Best Price for Your Cruise
Many commentators talked about how much they enjoyed watching the matches on the plane.
“I saw my favorite band on the ship twice, and it was so much fun. We spent the rest of the cruise greeting each other. We would see other people from the bar and ask where are your friends? I would say I don’t know these people, we’re all just Bills Mafia gang members,” Michelle Sapanara wrote.
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