Once on the sidelines, Netflix began diving into live sports.
In the past few months, the streaming giant has aired exhibition golf and tennis events. Also scheduled to air is the July 20 match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul. Early next year, Netflix will begin streaming World Wrestling Entertainment 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 the rights would certainly be welcome, it’s unlikely to happen anytime soon.
“The discipline they’ve shown about what they create or acquire and not shy away from it has been fascinating to watch so far,” said Tag Garson, president of Excelsior Sports and Entertainment, a consulting and marketing company.
The Netflix Cup last November, where F1 drivers were paired with PGA golfers in a match-play format, and March 3 Netflix Slam the exhibition match between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz had one thing in common – they blended seamlessly with the documentaries the company already offered.
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 docu-series about Alcaraz that will air next year.
For those wondering where boxing fits in, Netflix’s third season of “Untold” made its first episode about Jake Paul’s rise in boxing and the controversies that nearly derailed his career.
In Netflix’s case, live sports serve as a shoulder and supporting programming for documentaries and series, which is the opposite of what usually happens.
“Everything they do has compelling storylines. It doesn’t matter what genre we’re talking about within sports and entertainment,” Garson said. “The way they’re doing it is they’re also putting a very high production value into what’s being distributed on Netflix.”
Gabe Spitzer, Netflix’s vice president of non-fiction sports, said in recent interviews that they’ve talked to every league and team, but mainly discussed series and documentaries.
Netflix has also proven that it can create programming featuring top sports leagues without carrying games. A new NFL series called “Receiver” was announced Tuesday, following five wide receivers over the past season. For three weeks, last year’s “Quarterback” was among Netflix’s top 10 worldwide.
Netflix is also working on a project with the Boston Red Sox and developed multiple series dedicated to the latest FIFA Men’s and Women’s World Cups.
Netflix and Apple’s strategies with live sports are similar. Both are willing to bid if it means rights outside the United States.
The deal with WWE gives Netflix the rights to carry Raw in the US, Canada, the UK and Latin America, with additional countries to be added after the contracts expire. The bigger component, however, is that Netflix becomes the carrier of all WWE shows and specials outside the US and the company’s premium live events, including WrestleMania and SummerSlam.
Netflix said in recent announcements about programming that it has 260 million paid memberships in more than 190 countries.
That’s why Netflix is unlikely to explore bidding for part of the NBA package when negotiations begin in a few months, or the UFC when ESPN’s rights come up for renewal in a year, unless it contains 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’s just a one-off.
“If they’re committed to the sport, they care about the fighters and every match they do, they understand what the human values are, they want to promote it and connect with it, yes, it could be good,” said Lampley, a boxing spokesman who has called fights on ABC and HBO for over 30 years and currently works for PPV.com. “If they want to make a quick, casual buck based on cultivating a few big names and creating events that look like significant events but in most cases aren’t, then that’s not good. It’s just noise.”
Lampley’s early view is that it is the latter.
“I have nothing against Jake Paul. Mike is a dear friend. I wish him success in everything he does. But 57-year-old Mike Tyson against someone I only know as a figure on social media, there’s nothing we can expect to be legitimate about that,” he said.
Erwin Kishner, co-chair of the sports law group at New York law firm Herrick, Feinstein LLP, isn’t as skeptical about the fight, but he also thinks Netflix is expanding its reach.
“They’ve been completely on the edge (with live sports), but I still think it’s 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.”
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