Netflix, which had previously claimed that live sports were not part of its business model, has now become a major player in the field by acquiring Christmas NFL games. Before diving into established sports franchises like NFL and WWE Raw, Netflix experimented with made-for-TV sports events, beginning with The Netflix Cup on Nov. 14, 2023.
Netflix’s second viewership report revealed that The Netflix Cup, a golf match featuring drivers and golfers from shows like Formula 1: Drive to Survive and Full Swing, only attracted 700,000 views in the second half of 2023. In comparison, Netflix’s venture into live comedy with Chris Rock’s Selective Outrage special garnered 36.2M hours in the first half of 2023.
Selective Outrage continued to draw 1.5M views in the second half of 2023, emphasizing the longer shelf life of live entertainment compared to live sports. Following The Netflix Cup, Netflix hosted The Netflix Slam, an exhibition match between tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in March 2024. Although it didn’t make it into the Top 10 on the streaming platform, future data dumps will reveal if it performed better than The Netflix Cup.
Netflix is anticipating its upcoming live sports event, the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match. This match, like The Netflix Slam, features stars from different generations competing against each other. However, concerns about the physical nature of boxing have arisen regarding this match-up.
