Don’t expect to see live sport on Netflix any time soon

DStv has at least one avenue where it doesn’t have to worry about entertainment rival Netflix. Live sport isn’t likely to make an appearance on the platform any time soon, according to comments made by co-CEO Ted Sarandos.

Sarandos, speaking at the UBS Global TMT conference, said, “We’ve not seen a profit path to renting big sports today.”

No love for live sport

The hesitancy makes sense. As DStv well knows, sports can be a serious drawcard but buying the rights to them is incredibly expensive. That’s why most of the sporting action tends to remain locked behind a DStv Premium subscription — Multichoice has license fees to pay. And Netflix isn’t in the mood to pay those fees.

Even if it were, it would more than likely pay for events in its largest market, like the Super Bowl. South African rugby is probably far down on its list of must-haves.

That isn’t to say that Netflix will never offer live sports. The platform once promised that it would never feature ads and we all know how that one has turned out. That, and Sarandos hasn’t ruled it out. In fact, as soon as the platform figures out how to make money from live sports, we can expect it to start turning up.

“We’re not anti-sports, we’re just pro-profit. We have yet to figure out how to do it,” said Sarandos.

In the meantime, Netflix is experimenting with live-streaming standup comedy shows. Chris Rock will kick off that experiment in early 2023, possibly followed by many of the platform’s comedy stalwarts. Depending on how the initial foray is received, of course.

Source: Reuters