Netflix is reportedly getting ready to stream its first-ever sporting event


Netflix’s first live-streamed sporting event could be coming this fall. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is in talks to create a new, celebrity-driven golf tournament in Las Vegas that would include some of the stars of other sports content on the service like Drive to Survive and Full Swing. (Disclosure: Vox Media Studios produced Full Swing, and The Verge recently produced a series with Netflix.)
The talks are apparently early, but a custom, talent-driven golf tournament makes perfect sense as Netflix’s first foray into sports streaming. Streaming live sports is high-stakes, hard, and expensive, and the deals for big-name events are ever more cutthroat. (Netflix was reportedly trying to wrest Formula 1 coverage away from ESPN, but failed to do so.) There’s a reason that ESPN’s first-ever broadcast was of a slow-pitch softball game, and that Yahoo broadcast a London NFL game in the wee hours of the American morning before trying anything more complicated. And even those more conservative attempts don’t always go well.
Netflix’s own live-streaming reputation isn’t exactly sterling, either. In April, its Love is Blind live reunion show was such a spectacular failure that the service canceled the live aspect of the show altogether. It did, however, manage to stream a Chris Rock comedy special without any hiccups.
Netflix has been interested in live content since at least 2022, and has signaled its interest in sports for years, but has always said it’s looking for the right moment to get in the game. So far, the company has invested heavily in documentaries, to great success: lots of people credit Drive to Survive with single-handedly making Formula 1 popular in the United States, and Full Swing and Break Point have been hits for golf and tennis as well. The company is even signed up to do an NFL version, called Quarterback, that is scheduled to drop this summer.
A one-off golf tournament could be a test case for Netflix — or a signal of strategy
A one-off golf tournament could be a test case for Netflix to prove to leagues and advertisers that it can handle more complex events. It could also be a signal of strategy: the company has shown it can use documentaries and behind-the-scenes content to make people care about sports they previously knew nothing about, so maybe Netflix’s sports strategy will be more underwater hockey than NHL hockey and more toe wrestling than WWE. They would give Netflix plenty of content to stream, and plenty of good intellectual property to make shows about. Don’t be surprised to see Netflix’s sports network look like Drive to Survive, but for every sport you can possibly imagine.
Netflix’s first live-streamed sporting event could be coming this fall. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is in talks to create a new, celebrity-driven golf tournament in Las Vegas that would include some of the stars of other sports content on the service like Drive to Survive and…
Recent Posts
- Your new favorite teacher might be this AI educator that never loses their patience
- Kia’s next EV is the affordable, long-range EV4 sedan
- Meta’s AI chatbot will soon have a standalone app
- Framework’s Laptop 12 Could Inject New Life Into Budget Portable PCs
- CRKD teamed up with Gibson to make new guitar controllers
Archives
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- September 2018
- October 2017
- December 2011
- August 2010