Would you watch live sports on Netflix?
In a recent interview, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos indicated the company was more interested in "live events" than in acquiring the rights to live sports.
Sarandos also reiterated that when it comes to the company acquiring more live sports: “Never say never, but I would say that right now we are in the live events business,” he said. “There’s something very interesting and very exciting about when the world comes together to watch the same thing at the same time. They don’t do it very often. That’s what makes it so special.”
Of course, that didn't stop the streaming giant from sending me an interesting email a few days later announcing two live NFL games Netflix will be streaming on Christmas Day.
Well, Christmas Day is technically a "live event", I suppose...
To be clear, I'm not a "sports guy".
I enjoy mixed martial arts so I'll sometimes watch Ultimate Fighting Championship events at a local restaurant with friends.
I watch the Super Bowl every year, but mostly for the ads.
I'll watch the World Cup when Italy plays to avoid disappointing looks from my Sicilian father.
And if the Maple Leafs ever make the Stanley Cup final, I'll watch Game 7.
But I'm definitely not a "sports guy".
And as a result, I don't subscribe to cable services to watch sports...
... which also means I can't put any sports on "in the background" while doing other things...
... which means I'm unlikely to ever become significantly interested in sports.
It's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy, isn't it?
That's why I think there's something so interesting about making sports readily accessible via streaming platforms.
Of course, live sports on streaming services will encourage die-hard sports fans to sign up for those streaming services to avoid missing any games.
But I also think there's an interesting "discovery" aspect to these deals.
For example, a big reason my children don't watch sports is because they have limited access to games in my cable-free household.
Would they watch a football game out of sheer curiosity if it was readily available?
Can Netflix help to create new sports fans?
I'm not sure...
... ask me on December 26th and I'll let you know.
P.S. For those who will (rightly) point out the many benefits of sports, I should clarify that I agree with you: three out of four of my children participate in competitive sports and I earned a Minor Letter in high school by being a member of the football, wrestling, and rugby teams. (I was only any good at wrestling, but still.) I don't dislike sports; I'm just usually indifferent to watching others play sports when I don't have any direct stake in the outcome and prefer to spend my limited free time in other ways.
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