Netflix is breaking into live sports – but probably not in the way you imagined
Netflix is looking to tap into the growing global popularity of F1 racing and its own recent success with its Formula 1: Drive to Survive series with a first for the streamer: a live sporting event. But it’s not Formula 1 racing.
No, Netflix is doing the unthinkable: combining F1 with golf in a live pro-am golf tournament called The Netflix Cup. Netflix’s first-ever live sporting event will pit F1 Drivers from the Drive to Survive series against players from the PGA Tour.
The Netflix Cup is set to stream on Nov. 14 from the Wynn Golf Club in Las Vegas, Nevada. Not only is this a sporting first for Netflix, but it’s also Netflix’s first major live-streaming event since its botched Season 4 reunion of Love is Blind.
“We love to see how our sports series [F1 and PGA] have brought increased fandom to sports leagues and competitions all over the world,” said Gabe Spitzer, vice president of nonfiction sports at Netflix, in a statement.
Netflix is the latest streamer to enter the world of live sports broadcasting, alongside Amazon with its Thursday Night Football and Apple with its MLB and MLS contracts.
Set to compete from Formula 1 are Alex Albon, Pierre Gasly, Lando Norris, and Carlos Sainz. On the PGA TOUR side Rickie Fowler, Max Homa, Collin Morikawa, and Justin Thomas.
After the initial international livestream, Netflix plans to keep the Cup as a video-on-demand available on the platform. No details about the duration of the stream were released. However, most games of 18-hole golf take four to five hours.
This is ambitious as the platform has had limited experience with international live streaming and this level of anticipated viewers. With the reunion of Love is Blind Season 4, viewers were not able to access the stream until after 9 pm Eastern, which is over an hour after the stream was scheduled to start.
We asked Netflix about its plans to ensure network stability, but haven’t heard back at this writing. We’ll update this post with Netflix’s response.
The cup will open up the week of the inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix. This is the newest of courses in the United States after the Miami and U.S. Grand Prix.
While some are excited about the golf, others are hyped for the ensuing golf cart races that are sure to take place between the holes.
