Netflix is pretty dug in on its position on live sports rights. CEO Ted Sarandos has said he does not see a real benefit in the streaming giant getting involved in content that it cannot control and that he is happy to stay “sports adjacent” with the company’s popular sports documentary series.
Michael Nathanson, co-founder of the research firm MoffettNathanson, isn’t buying that there is just no interest in live sports from Netflix.
“I have learned to watch what Netflix does and not what they say,” he said in an interview with The Athletic’s Richard Deitsch, citing past interviews where Sarandos told him he never foresaw Netflix making original content.
Like other streaming services, the subscription cost for Netflix is on the rise. Nathanson says without sports, there will always be an argument to be made that the amount of time an averague user spends on the platform doesn’t justify the monthly cost
“There’s a point at which I say to my family — for, say, $25 a month — ‘I’m sorry, but it’s maybe an hour and a half of our day,'” he said. “It’s a ton of money. But if you add sports, the history of sports pricing is pretty powerful, right? Look at the price of tickets to baseball games these days for 81 games a year. I think it will drive pricing, and I think it would also be better ROI than the films they’re making.”
Nathanson said that if Netflix is looking for a sports investment that would offer a lot of “bang for the buck,” there is one out there that is ready to negotiate.
“The NBA deal is coming up, so let’s see what happens. The NBA, given it is international, would be a win-win for both sides.”
