Netflix is most people’s go-to when it comes to streaming services.
It has just about everything you could want on there – documentaries, movies, TV series – you name it.
However, there’s been one piece of entertainment that has been left largely untouched up until this point – which Netflix’s CEO, Ted Sarandos, addressed in a recent interview.
Sarandos was being interviewed by The Wall Street Journal when the topic of livestreaming content was raised by interviewer Emma Tucker.
Tucker asked Sarandos about Netflix’s sport content, saying: “Traditionally, Netflix has done some great sports documentaries. But you haven’t really been into live sports streaming.
“However, on Christmas Day no less, you’ll be streaming two NFL games. And you’ll also be streaming a boxing match between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul.
“My question is – will we ever see a full season of college or professional football, baseball or basketball on Netflix?”
To which Sarandos replied: “I’ll never say never, but right now we are in the live events business.
Steve Granitz/FilmMagic)
“Some of those events are sports. The Tom Brady roast is just as much a live event as the Tyson-Paul fight.
“There’s just something very interesting about when the whole world comes together to watch something at the same time, it doesn’t happen very often.”
It was his belief that streaming the NFL games on Christmas Day would make the sport truly international for the 600 million users around the world.
However, he adds that the difference between the ‘event and the season’ is down to the economics of it.
He said: “I think the leagues do a phenomenal job of building fandom, and for that, they get to keep all of the money.”
Sarandos added that distribution tends to be ‘low-margin business in league sports’, however, if they can ‘add some value back to them’, then he thinks they could ‘make it work’.
With WWE also set to come to the platform next year, there’s no telling where this will end. But either way, it’d make the site seem like even more of a bargain that it already is.
A standard Netflix subscription costs £10.99 and gives you access to thousands of films and shows.
Throw lives sport into the mix and you’ve got yourself one hell of a deal.
However, don’t get too carried away as rules would still apply should you be watching any live events on Netflix.
