The world of streaming hasn’t just arrived to compete with traditional television in terms of series, movies, and reality shows. It seems that the streaming sector also wants to take over the purest form of television: sports. But not just at home, sports broadcasts as well.
First live sports event broadcasted on Netflix could arrive this fall. The Wall Street Journal reports that the company is in talks to create a new golf tournament in Las Vegas.
Apparently, the agreement is in its early stages, but a customized golf tournament driven by celebrities from the world of golf makes a lot of sense as Netflix’s first foray into sports streaming. Very intriguing.
Live sports broadcasting is risky, challenging, and expensive, and deals for high-profile events are becoming increasingly cutthroat (it is said that Netflix attempted to snatch Formula 1 coverage from ESPN but was unsuccessful).
Netflix’s reputation is also not particularly strong in this area. In April, its live reunion of the reality show Love is Blind was such a resounding failure that the service completely canceled the live broadcast. However, it managed to successfully stream a comedy special by Chris Rock without any issues.
Netflix has been interested in live content since at least 2022 and has shown interest in sports for years. However, the company has always maintained that it is waiting for the right moment to enter the game.
So far, the company has invested heavily in documentaries, which have been highly successful. Many attribute the popularity of Formula 1 in the United States to “Drive to Survive,” and “Full Swing” and “Break Point” have also been successful for golf and tennis, respectively.
The company has even signed a deal for an NFL version called “Quarterback,” which is set to premiere this summer. However, covering a live sports event is a completely different undertaking than producing documentaries.
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