Streaming giant Netflix Inc NFLX is one of several companies that could disrupt the traditional media companies dominating the world of live sports.
The company announced another live sports special and shared data on just how successful its sports docuseries were in 2023.
What Happened: Netflix ended the third quarter with 247.15 million global paid subscribers, making it one of the largest streaming companies globally.
Growth plans come from international expansion, original content, password-sharing crackdowns, video games and ad-supported plans.
The company could also look to sports for continued growth with several past live sporting events and at least one more coming.
Netflix announced it will stream "The Netflix Slam" on March 3, 2024. The tennis match is a head-to-head battle between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz, two of the greatest in the sport. The exhibition match features one of the greatest of all time in Nadal and one of the strongest up-and-comers and the future of the sport.
Nadal has won 22 Grand Slam men's singles championships. Alcaraz became the youngest number-one tennis player ever in 2022 and is the winner of the 2022 U.S. Open and 2023 Wimbledon, having two Grand Slam titles already in his young career. Alcaraz was the seventh most-searched athlete on Google in 2023.
"I'm honored and so happy to be sharing the court with Rafa in Las Vegas," Alcaraz told Netflix. "He's an all-time great, of course, and his records and achievements speak for themselves."
"The Netflix Slam" will take place at the Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas and stream live on Netflix.
Netflix said additional players and tennis matches will be announced at a future date.
Related Link: If You Invested $1,000 In Netflix Stock At Its IPO, Here’s How Much You’d Have Now
Why It's Important: The launch of "The Netflix Slam" follows Netflix's tennis docuseries "Break Point," which premiered on the streaming platform earlier this year.
The past sports docuseries "Drive to Survive" and "Full Swing," which centered on athletes from Formula 1 racing and the PGA Tour, respectively, led to a live golf event aired by Netflix in November.
Netflix has been credited with boosting the growth of Formula 1 FWONAFWONK in the U.S. thanks to "Drive to Survive." The company has also bid on smaller sports rights such as tennis and cycling events.
The streaming company recently released its first-ever "What We Watched: A Netflix Engagement Report," which showed the top shows for the first six months of 2023.
Here's a look at some of the sports series and where they ranked:
#121: Drive to Survive Season 5, 90.2 million hours
#274: Full Swing Season 1, 53.1 million hours
#617: Break Point Season 1, 30.5 million hours
#984: Tour de France Unchained, 21.8 million hours
#1530: Drive to Survive Season 4, 13.7 million hours
#1540: Drive to Survive Season 1, 13.6 million hours
#2155: Drive to Survive Season 3, 9.4 million hours
#2193: Drive to Survive Season 2, 9.2 million hours
Netflix will release the report twice a year. The next report will include data for the hit NFL series "Quarterback" and a David Beckham documentary series that premiered on Netflix in October.
While the sports series don't draw the same viewership as hit series like "Wednesday," "Bridgerton" and "Stranger Things," they could be important to Netflix's growth in live content.
Netflix premiered a live comedy special from Chris Rock in 2023, which may have been a precursor to getting into live sports.
The streaming giant could be following other companies like Amazon.com, Inc. AMZN and Apple Inc AAPL that have landed sports rights for streaming platforms. Right now, Netflix appears to be content on doing live specials and bidding on smaller sports rights, leaving the major professional sports rights that are more costly to the traditional media companies and streaming rivals.
"We aren't anti-sports, we're pro-profit," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said in January when asked about sports rights.
Sports could remain a key focus for Netflix in the future, whether it's with docuseries, live events or full rights to sports leagues.
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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