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Netflix Will Stream First Live Sports Event Its Own Way

Jacob Feldman
·3 min read

Before 20 Formula One drivers bring F1 back to Las Vegas for the first time since 1982 on Nov. 19., four of them will participate in Netflix history.

Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris, and Carlos Sainz will compete alongside PGA Tour golfers Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa and Justin Thomas in the mega streamer’s first live sports event on Nov. 14. The Netflix Cup will consist of an eight-hole match featuring the four pairs (teams are yet to be announced), followed by a final hole competition between the top two performing duos, at Las Vegas’ Wynn Golf Club.

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Just how momentous the occasion turns out to be largely depends on where Netflix’s live streaming ambitions take it next.

Though known for its on-demand, bingeable offerings (and before that, disc shipping options), Netflix has begun expanding its live capabilities. In March, the company aired a Chris Rock special in real-time. Distribution difficulties struck during a live Love Is Blind reunion special in April, however, and the show went back to a pre-taped finale in October.

“We are investing heavily in increasing our live capabilities so that as the demand grows for that and we find different ways, the liveness can be part of the creative storytelling,” Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said last month. “We want to be able to do that at a big scale.”

Now comes the Cup. The project has been germinating for more than a year, with Vegas race organizers looking to generate buzz for racing’s return to The Strip. Excel Sports Management, BZ Entertainment and Full Day Productions are producing the program.

“If Netflix is going into live sports, and they’re starting off with a made-for-TV event with F1 and golf, this needed to look and sound different than any golf tournament that you would have watched,” Excel VP, events, Kevin Hopkins said. “We’ve had some great brainstorm sessions and whiteboard sessions where we’ve thrown out all kinds of ideas around talent, around unique contests within the actual telecast, and I think you’ll see that when it comes to life next week.”

One thing viewers won’t see is traditional commercial breaks.

F1 starring in Netflix’s first live sporting event is fitting, given its key role in the company’s rapid rise as a sports media power. Drive to Survive began as an idea from F1 exec Sean Bratches. Having seen success with a few other sports-based docuseries—and with hopes of growing in Europe and Asia—Netflix took the project on.

No one could have predicted just how big of an impact the show would have, spurring similar series for seemingly every sport, from rugby to running. The company is now advertising its expansive sports library in a series of commercials.

More made-for-streaming sports competitions could follow. If next week’s event generates attention, don’t be surprised to see a few quarterbacks hit the same links ahead of February’s Las Vegas Super Bowl or March’s NASCAR race in town. Netflix executives are also exploring the possibility of airing live boxing, following the July release of a Jake Paul documentary, according to The Wall Street Journal.

“As a viewer I always liked all those things—getting to see different sides of people,” Full Day executive producer David Chamberlin said, “And I do think that there are a lot of opportunities with a lot of different outlets and distributors like Netflix becoming more and more interested in sports and seeing how much sports can engage people.”

But first, The Netflix Cup has to be a hit.

Like the follow-along docs, the live program will strike a balance between sports and entertainment, Netflix VP for nonfiction sports Gabe Spitzer said. Rather than go after traditional (and expensive) sports rights, the service has wooed fans with access and storytelling as much as X’s and O’s.

“It has to be a golf tournament,” Spitzer said, “but we also want to have something that has the Netflix identity to it.”

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