Netflix is streaming another live sports game, although the company continues to insist that it will not enter the live sports rights business.
On Thursday, March 7, the streaming giant announced that it would broadcast a boxing match between iconic and controversial former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson and social media star Jake Paul.
Netflix (NFLX) He described the fight, which will take place on Saturday, July 20 at the massive AT&T Stadium, where the Dallas Cowboys play, as a “heavyweight boxing mega-event.”
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While the game is sure to turn heads (and detractors) due to the presence of the much-maligned Paul, the game is another sign that Netflix is ramping up its live sports content.
In January, Netflix announced a massive 10-year, $5 billion deal with WWE to begin streaming wrestling promotion's flagship brand Raw on Netflix by 2025. But while the deal markets the company's first long-term commitment Netflix to consistently stream a live sports show, Netflix executives made sure to emphasize that WWE, being a scripted property, is “sports entertainment.”
“I wouldn't view this as a sign of any further changes or shifts in our sports strategy,” Sarandos said during the company's fourth-quarter 2023 earnings conference call in January.
This meant the deal was more aligned with Netflix's sports strategy, which has focused on entertainment and storytelling that emerged from hit sports docuseries such as “Formula 1: Drive to Survive” and “Full Swing.”
Netflix has continued to move toward streaming live sporting events, but they have mostly been exhibition games like “The Netflix Cup,” a golf event that featured professional golfers and Formula 1 drivers who appeared in the documentary series aforementioned Netflix, and “The Netflix.” Slam”, which was a tennis match between two great Spanish talents, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, which aired last Sunday.
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With the announcement of this match between Paul and Tyson, the streaming giant seems to continue betting on alternative forms of live sports. In the fight's press release, the company emphasized that it is a “premier home for great sports entertainment,” before highlighting its line of docuseries.
The company's streaming competitors, such as Prime Video and Apple TV+, have committed billions to live streaming sports leagues such as the NFL and MLS. But despite that, Netflix clearly has a strength in streaming with its more than 80 million streaming subscribers in the United States alone and more than 260 million worldwide, so many are waiting for when it will fully commit. with a firm live sports property.
For now, the company seems steadfast in its commitment to the narrative side, and is simply pushing the boundaries of that meaning as much as it can.
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