2024 is just about to become history. It has certainly not been a quiet year in sports business, rather quite a defining year with some trends emerging so strong that it has the potential to even reshape the sports business
One such is entry of Netflix in the world of live sports streaming. It is as much a surprise as unexpected from many quarters. In this blog, we reflect on this decision & strategy adopted by Netflix and if this has the potential to become a big move for mainstream European football in the long run
European Sports Media Rights Status
Before we discuss about Netflix, take step back to understand the state of European football media rights
- Premier League’s broadcast rights value is growing especially the international rights which will contribute 58% of the total rights value from the year 25/26
- LaLiga media rights are in stable condition at least till 2026/27 season, focus shifts on other three of the ‘big five’ leagues
- German Bundesliga has managed to secure a 2% increase with new €4.48bn domestic broadcast deals, bringing in €1.12bn per year from 2025/26 till 2028/29 season from the current rights deal worth €1.1bn per year
- The Italian Serie A clubs will earn approximately €900mn per year in domestic rights, that is 3% less than the previous one.
- The French Professional Football League’s (LFP) €500mn domestic deal with DAZN and BeIN Sports is substantially lesser than the targeted €1bn in domestic apart from an additional €200mn from overseas rights.
- As things stand out, both French Ligue 1 and Italian Serie A have opted to go the direct-to-consumer (DTC) route in the big UK and Ireland market after struggling to secure traditional broadcast coverage in the market
The dust of domestic media right sales or all five leagues has more or less settled now, it’s the international rights of leagues other than Premier League which might need calibration in the near future if they plan to narrow the gap.
Beyond the ‘big five’ leagues, it becomes interesting to explore the possibility of international territory expansion. After all, most multi-club ownership networks have a stake in these lesser known leagues in countries like Belgium, Portugal, The Netherlands etc. In such circumstances, could Netflix be the difference?
Netflix’s Road To Live Sports
Cut to the entry of Netflix in live sports streaming. They recently acquired exclusive U.S. streaming rights for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031 and marked their entry in football. After testing the live sports streaming tests with an exhibition golf in 2023, The Netflix Cup, they increased the scope with the exhibition boxing fight between Jake Paul and Mike Tyson, which saw an Estimated average minute audience (AMA) of 108mn live viewers globally tuned in from opening to closing bell. The bout, faced some technical issues, peaked at 65mn concurrent streams
Netflix further increased the scale with $150mn invested in Christmas day NFL live double-header along with added performances by Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. They not only passed the test in terms of technicalities but also raked up a combined 65mn US viewers. Netflix further added that the two games set streaming records for the NFL where through the 2024 season, the league has been averaging about 18mn viewers per broadcast
Set to live-stream WWE RAW, other NFL matches and now, along with FIFA Women’s World Cup streaming rights for US, Netflix has turned on the entry into live sports in full steam
In Conclusion
Given the shaky state of affairs of European football media, Amazon Prime tentative in pitching for media rights in Europe, the increased risk of cord-cutting across Western Europe, question arises – could Netflix be the next big player?
Although Netflix is limiting itself to US for now, which might be a strategic reason, could it also expand to other territories soon? We certainly feel that the seeds have been sown.
Watch out for the developments here
