- Reed Hastings, CEO of Netflix, announced that Netflix’s next move would be live streaming of sporting events.
- The idea is to get the broadcasting rights of Formula 1
- For this, the streaming platform asks to be the only site that has the rights to F1
According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, the streaming platform’s next move would be live streaming of sporting events.
It seems that every day we are witnessing the great power that streaming platforms are reaching and, as a consequence, we see how television is lagging further behind before the emergence of more content and the emergence of more sites such as Netflix, HBO Max, etc.
And it is that, in reality, it was something that was seen to come since platforms such as Netflix began to be placed among the preferences of consumers.
This is because, now, there is a huge supply of series and movie content that, without a doubt, are displacing even pay television.
Now, in addition to their traditional content, these platforms are turning to another window: sporting events. If we take into account the popularity they have been gaining, it seems that the natural step was sports.
This year, to mention one example, HBO Max snatched the UEFA Champions League from ESPN and Fox Sports, networks that have taken over the rights to the UEFA Europa Conference League, the new competition for European clubs.
While it is true that UEFA Champions League matches are also being broadcast on TNT and Cinemax, what is most striking is how a streaming platform has won the rights to one of the most attractive sporting events for fans. .
This fact, without a doubt, has opened a wide range of possibilities for other streaming platforms to decide to join the wide world of sports, and it seems that Netflix is developing a very interesting strategy.
According to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings himself, the idea is for Formula 1 to come to the popular streaming platform. At the very least, it will try to get the broadcasting rights next year. This was revealed to the newspaper Der Spiegel:
“A few years ago the rights to Formula 1 were sold. At that time we were not among the bidders; today we would think about it, “he said.
Why Formula 1? Actually, analyzing it well, it seems a logical experiment if we take into account the response that the series “Drive to Survive” has had, which has, so far, three seasons released.
In fact, thanks to the popularity that “Drive to Survive” generated, Formula 1 registered an increase of 39 percent with respect to its audiences between 2019 and 2021. The series is currently in the process of its fourth season.
Because of this, it is not at all unreasonable that Netflix’s next move is to take over the broadcasting rights of Formula 1, but, for this, it will have to wait a little longer.
Currently, the broadcasting rights in the United States are held by ESPN until 2022. For its part, in the United Kingdom, Skysports acquired the rights until 2024, the same period for Canal + in France. Even Amazon has already tried to get the rights to Formula 1.
Now, one of the conditions that Netflix asks for is to have exclusivity, which could generate conflict for the platform, since it is something that does not happen with any sporting event in the world.
Undoubtedly, we are living a new era in terms of television content, which has already lost the rights to such relevant events as the Soccer World Cup (a few years ago it was broadcast completely), the EUROCOPA, among others.
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