Boxers
Jake
Paul
(L),
and
Mike
Tyson
(R).
Getty
Images
Sport
|
Getty
Images
In
the
competitive
world
of
live
sports
streaming,
Netflix
is
taking
another
step
into
the
arena.
In
July,
the
media
giant
will
broadcast
a
boxing
match
between
legendary
fighter
Mike
Tyson
and
social
media
personality-turned-boxer
Jake
Paul,
who
is
30
years
Tyson’s
junior.
This
will
be
Tyson’s
first
professional
fight
in
19
years
—
and
Netflix
management
is
billing
the
event,
as
well
as
its
other
live
programming,
as
“cultural
moments”
relevant
not
only
to
viewers,
but
to
advertisers.
Advertising
is
one
of
Netflix’s
newest
revenue
streams,
and
the
company
said
in
an
April
shareholder
letter
that
it’s
trying
to
scale
ads
and
make
them
a
“more
meaningful
contributor”
to
business.
Netflix
has
previously
hedged
its
investment
in
live
sports,
differentiating
its
ventures
into
the
realm
—
like
its
more
than
$5
billion
licensing
deal
with
WWE
—
as
“sports
entertainment.”
But
on
its
most
recent
earnings
call
in
April,
co-CEO
Ted
Sarandos
said
Netflix
isn’t
“anti-sports,
but
pro-profitable
growth.”
He
suggested
that
under
the
right
circumstances,
the
company
could
expand
its
live
sports
programming.
“Our
North
Star
is
to
grow
engagement,
revenue
and
profit,
and
if
we
find
opportunities
we
could
drive
all
three
of
those,
we
will
do
that
across
an
increasingly
wide
variety
of
quality
entertainment,”
Sarandos
said.
“So
when
and
if
those
opportunities
arrive,
that
we
can
come
in
and
do
that
—
which
we
feel
like
we
did
in
our
deal
with
WWE
—
if
we
can
repeat
those
dynamics
and
other
things
including
sports,
we’ll
look
at
them
for
sure.”
Netflix
has
hosted
several
other
one-off
live
sports
events
recently
paired
with
documentary-type
series.
It
live
streamed
the
“Netflix
Cup”
last
November,
where
Formula
1
racers
and
pro
golfers
faced
off,
as
well
as
“The
Netflix
Slam”
in
March,
which
featured
tennis
stars
like
Rafael
Nadal.
The
company
has
also
leaned
into
live
comedy
shows,
broadcasting
a
slew
of
events
including
the
recent
roast
of
Tom
Brady.
But
Netflix
could
soon
make
its
boldest
move
into
sports
yet:
acquiring
the
rights
to
exclusively
stream
two
NFL
games
on
Christmas
next
season,
according
to
Puck.

watch
now
Netflix
is
taking
a
“deliberate
path”
to
try
and
understand
the
outcome
and
potential
benefits
of
live
sports
programming,
according
to
Marty
Conway,
an
adjunct
at
Georgetown
University.
Conway
teaches
courses
about
sports
leadership
and
management,
and
he
spent
much
of
his
career
as
a
marketing
executive
for
two
Major
League
Baseball
teams.
“That’s
what
they’re
probably
testing
here
is,
as
they
go
through
these
various
sports,
tennis,
boxing,
golf
…
What
type
of
audience
do
they
get
and
what’s
the
response
in
the
advertising
marketplace
when
they
go
to
the
market
with
these
type
of
opportunities?”
Conway
said.
Needham
analyst
Laura
Martin
said
she
thinks
Netflix’s
sports
streaming
ventures
will
boost
profits.
“There
is
a
class
of
advertiser
that
wants
to
be
involved
in
sports,
and
so
this
widens
their
reach
into
certain
advertising
dollars,”
Martin
said.
And
there
are
advertisers
that
Netflix
can
attract
with
this
kind
of
content
“that
it
can’t
get
otherwise,”
she
added.
Netflix
may
even
have
a
leg
up
on
its
sports
streaming
peers,
according
Brandon
Katz,
an
entertainment
industry
strategist
at
Parrot
Analytics.
The
company’s
huge
content
repository
can
help
retain
viewers
who
might
have
subscribed
just
for
live
sports,
he
said,
and
Netflix’s
knowledge
of
its
niche
audiences
can
really
strengthen
targeted
advertisements.
Although
its
ad-tier
growth
has
been
slow
going,
Katz
said
advertisers
generally
remain
excited
about
Netflix’s
long-term
potential.
As
of
January
2024,
Netflix’s
ad-supported
tier
had
more
than
23
million
monthly
active
users.
“I
think
there
is
still
a
strong,
strong
affinity
for
the
platform
in
the
long
term
—
I
believe
advertisers
see
the
upside,”
he
said.
“I
believe
they
see
Netflix
has,
for
better
and
for
worse
for
the
industry,
managed
to
overcome
every
challenge
and
every
setback
that’s
been
thrown
at
it
as
an
original
content
producer.”
Conway
said
he
thinks
Netflix
will
inevitably
dive
further
into
live
sports,
as
has
been
the
case
for
so
many
streaming
services,
including
those
owned
by
Apple,
Amazon,
Disney
and
Warner
Bros.
Discovery.
Disney,
Fox
and
Warner
Bros.
announced
earlier
this
year
they
would
launch
a
joint
sports
streaming
service
that
will
include
all
the
broadcast
and
cable
networks
owned
by
the
three
companies
that
show
sports.
Over
the
past
few
years,
Apple
has
bought
the
rights
to
air
Major
League
Baseball
and
Major
League
Soccer
games.
Along
with
several
other
media
giants,
Amazon
inked
a
huge
deal
with
the
National
Football
League
in
February.
And
as
its
exclusive
deal
with
Disney
and
Warner
Bros.
comes
to
an
end,
the
National
Basketball
Association
could
be
signing
with
new
partners.
CNBC
reported
last
year
that
Netflix,
as
well
as
Amazon,
Apple,
Comcast’s
NBCUniversal/Peacock,
had
expressed
potential
interest
in
a
contract.
But
it
will
likely
be
a
long
road
for
Netflix
when
it
comes
to
deal-making
with
the
major
leagues.
According
to
Conway,
many
major
sports
providers
may
not
be
ready
to
take
a
gamble
on
the
company,
especially
if
they
know
they
already
have
high
viewer
penetration
through
other
avenues.
He
added
that
it
might
not
be
a
good
idea
for
Netflix’s
bottom
line
in
the
short
term
to
get
into
a
bidding
war
to
lease
content
they
don’t
own
and
can’t
reuse.
“I
know
everyone
for
a
fact,
in
the
pro-sports
area,
from
a
media
standpoint,
has
had
conversations
with
Netflix
officials,”
Conway
said.
“The
question
is,
what
does
each
side
want?
And
right
now,
I
think
there’s
some
gap,
frankly,
between
what
the
current
content
providers,
the
NFL,
the
NBA,
tend
to
offer,
and
what
Netflix
is
looking
for.”
William
Mao,
a
media
rights
executive
at
sports
and
entertainment
agency
Octagon,
noted
that
Netflix
may
not
actually
need
more
traditional
live
sports
offerings
in
the
future.
He
said
Netflix’s
sports
strategy
so
far
has
been
smart,
honing
in
on
“the
power
of
the
individual.”
He
suggested
the
upcoming
match
is
more
about
Tyson
and
Paul
themselves
than
showing
the
“pinnacle
of
boxing.”
“You
have
to
ask
the
question,
why
do
they
need
to
necessarily
get
into
sports
if
they
continue
to
be
market
leading
without
having
to
invest
in
the
traditional
sense?”
Mao
said.
Disclosure:
Comcast
owns
NBCUniversal,
the
parent
company
of
CNBC.