Apple and Amazon have jumped into the live sports arena. Don’t expect Netflix to do the same though. Co-CEO Ted Sarandos said on a recent earnings call that the company will never say never, but it isn’t something Netflix has to do right now.
“I’m not saying that we’ll never do sports, but we’ll have to see a path to growing a big revenue stream and a great profit stream with it,” he said.
Sarandos believes that right now there isn’t a way for the company to generate significant revenue off of live sports. That doesn’t mean there is no interest in sports at all.
Netflix has seen plenty of success from its sports-focused documentary series including LAst Chance U and recent hit F1: Drive To Survive. Ted Sarandos was quick to point out that particular series has produced spin-offs focusing on the PGA Tour and NASCAR.
Reed Hastings, the other co-CEO at Netflix, told a German newspaper that the company would consider buying the media rights to F1 to pair with Drive to Survive, but that Netflix isn’t a sports media company. The company would demand a level of exclusivity and control that he doesn’t expect many leagues would want to give up.
Sarandos said that when it comes to competitions, there is a reason Netflix is focused on gaming and not on live sports rights.
“We’re going down the game path because it fits us really nicely, our ability to tell stories and build worlds are very consistent with our existing skillset and culture and we think we can build a big revenue and profit stream by adding games.”
