Netflix’s first reside sports activities occasion may very well be a star golf event

Netflix’s first live-streamed sporting occasion may very well be coming this fall. The Wall Avenue Journal experiences that the corporate is in talks to create a brand new, celebrity-driven golf event in Las Vegas that would come with a number of the stars of different sports activities content material on the service like Drive to Survive and Full Swing. (Disclosure: Vox Media Studios produced Full Swing, and The Verge just lately produced a collection with Netflix.)

The talks are apparently early, however a customized, talent-driven golf event makes good sense as Netflix’s first foray into sports activities streaming. Streaming reside sports activities is high-stakes, laborious, and costly, and the offers for big-name occasions are ever extra cutthroat. (Netflix was reportedly attempting to wrest Formulation 1 protection away from ESPN, however failed to take action.) There’s a purpose that ESPN’s first-ever broadcast was of a slow-pitch softball sport, and that Yahoo broadcast a London NFL sport within the wee hours of the American morning earlier than attempting something extra sophisticated. And even these extra conservative makes an attempt don’t all the time go effectively.

Netflix’s personal live-streaming repute isn’t precisely sterling, both. In April, its Love is Blind reside reunion present was such a spectacular failure that the service canceled the reside side of the present altogether. It did, nevertheless, handle to stream a Chris Rock comedy particular with none hiccups.

Netflix has been eager about reside content material since a minimum of 2022, and has signaled its curiosity in sports activities for years, however has all the time mentioned it’s in search of the proper second to get within the sport. To date, the corporate has invested closely in documentaries, to nice success: plenty of individuals credit score Drive to Survive with single-handedly making Formulation 1 in style in the US, and Full Swing and Break Level have been hits for golf and tennis as effectively. The corporate is even signed as much as do an NFL model, referred to as Quarterback, that’s scheduled to drop this summer season.

A one-off golf event may very well be a check case for Netflix to show to leagues and advertisers that it could deal with extra advanced occasions. It may be a sign of technique: the corporate has proven it could use documentaries and behind-the-scenes content material to make individuals care about sports activities they beforehand knew nothing about, so perhaps Netflix’s sports activities technique might be extra underwater hockey than NHL hockey and extra toe wrestling than WWE. They might give Netflix loads of content material to stream, and loads of good mental property to make exhibits about. Don’t be stunned to see Netflix’s sports activities community appear like Drive to Survive, however for each sport you may presumably think about.