Achi news desk-
After being on the sidelines, Netflix has started to get involved in live sports.
Over the past few months, the streaming giant has broadcast exhibition events in golf and tennis. There is also room to broadcast the July 20 fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Starting next year, Netflix will begin hosting World Wrestling Entertainment’s flagship show, “Raw.”
So there has been speculation as to whether Netflix’s recent forays into live sports are a precursor to becoming a major player in live sports rights. While having another contender for rights would certainly be welcome, it is unlikely to happen anytime soon.
“The discipline they’ve shown for what they either create or acquire and not deviate from that has been fascinating to watch so far,” he said. Tag Garson, president of Excelsior Sports and Entertainment, a consulting and marketing company.
Last November’s Netflix Cup, where Formula 1 drivers were paired with PGA golfers in a match-play format, and March 3’s Netflix Slam exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz had one thing in common – they matched seamlessly with documentaries the company already had. offering
The Netflix Cup brought together famous figures from “Drive to Survive” and “Full Swing” and the Netflix Slam for “Point Break”. Although “Point Break” is ending after two seasons, Netflix is producing a documentary series about Alcaraz that will air next year.
For those wondering where boxing fits in, Netflix’s third season of “Untold” premiered its episode on Jake Paul’s rise in boxing and the controversies that nearly derailed his career.
In the case of Netflix, live sports serve as shoulder and support programs for the documentaries and series, which is the opposite of what usually happens.
“Everything they do has compelling story lines. It doesn’t matter what genre we’re talking about within sports and entertainment,” Garson said. “The way they go about it also gives a very high production value to what is distributed across Netflix.”
Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s vice president of factual sports, has said in recent interviews that they have spoken to every league and team but that they have mainly discussed series and documentaries.
Netflix has also proven that it can create programs featuring the best sports leagues without carrying games. A new NFL series called “Receiver,” which followed five wide receivers throughout last season, was announced Tuesday. For three weeks, last year’s “Quarterback” series was among Netflix’s top 10 series globally.
Netflix is also working on a project with the Boston Red Sox and recently developed multiple series dedicated to the men’s and women’s FIFA world cups.
Netflix and Apple’s strategies with live sports are similar. Both are willing to bid if it means rights beyond the US.
The WWE deal gives Netflix the rights to carry Raw in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Latin America, with additional countries to be added as contracts expire. The biggest component, though, is Netflix becoming the carrier of all WWE shows and specials outside of the US and the company’s premium live events, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam.
Netflix has said in recent program announcements that it has 260 million paid memberships in over 190 countries.
That’s why Netflix would be unlikely to explore bidding on a piece of the NBA package when negotiations open in a couple of months, or UFC when ESPN rights come up for renewal in a year, unless it includes additional countries.
Like many who follow boxing and combat sports, Jim Lampley is waiting to see if the Paul-Tyson fight means more events on Netflix or if it is a one-off event.
“If they commit to the sport, care about the fighters and every match they do, understand what the human values are, want to promote and identify with it, yes, it can be good, ” said Lampley, a boxing announcer who has called fights on ABC and HBO for over 30 years and currently works for PPV.com. “If they’re looking to make a quick casual buck based on cultivating a few big names and creating events that look like they’re likely to be meaningful events, but mostly aren’t, then it’s not good It’s just noise.”
Lampley’s early opinion is that it is the latter.
“I have nothing against Jake Paul. Mike is a dear friend. I wish him well in everything he does. But Mike Tyson, aged 57, against someone I only know as a social media figure, there’s nothing we can expect to be legitimate about that,” he said.
Irwin Kishner, co-chairman of the sports law group at New York law firm Herrick, Feinstein LLP, isn’t so skeptical about the fight but also thinks Netflix is expanding its reach.
“They’ve been completely around the edges (with live sports), but I still think this is going to get a lot of eyeballs,” he said. “I think it’s only a matter of time before they become much heavier players in this space.”
