- Netflix may be ready to get into live sports after its "Love Is Blind" reunion livestreaming snafu.
- The streamer is planning a livestreamed celebrity golf match, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Netflix may be looking to a sports event to prove its livestreaming chops after it fumbled a recent live reunion special of the reality show "Love is Blind."
The streaming company is planning a celebrity golf event as its first foray into live sports, the Wall Street Journal reported on Tuesday. The event is expected to feature professional golfers from the Netflix docuseries "Full Swing" and players from its Formula 1 racing series "Drive to Survive."
Netflix did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment on the report.
But a decision to plan its own event rather than license from or partner with a sports organization would suggest Netflix is still looking to refine its live capabilities before it dives deeper into sports rights.
The company, which pretty much pioneered binge-watching with its on-demand streaming and full-season episode drops, has been dabbling in live events.
It streamed its first live stand-up comedy special in March, Chris Rock's "Selective Outrage," which went off without a hitch. And it inked a deal to livestream the SAG Awards starting in 2024.
But its most recent livestreaming attempt, a reunion special for its hit reality show "Love Is Blind," was a spectacular failure. The special was supposed to air live on April 16, but the livestream hit technical snags, and the filmed reunion didn't drop on Netflix until the next day.
"We're really sorry to have disappointed so many people," co-CEO Greg Peters said during Netflix's first-quarter earnings call in April. "We didn't meet the standard that we expect from ourselves to serve our members."
The special was derailed by a bug the company had accidentally introduced when it made changes to improve livestreaming performance after the Chris Rock special, Peters said.
The snafu was a bad look for Netflix, but it could have been disastrous had it been tied to a live sporting event. There's a lot more at stake with sports, including the interests of teams, leagues, athletes, advertisers, and even gambling operators, who depend on timely and reliable broadcasts.
The blunder could give sports-rights holders pause about signing deals with Netflix. The company has yet to ink any live-sports pacts, finding success instead with docuseries around sports like Formula 1, professional golf, and professional tennis. But Insider previously reported Netflix bid on the US media rights for Formula 1 in 2022 before they landed back at ESPN, which show's the streamer's appetite to do more with live sports.
Livestreaming its own golf event would allow Netflix to work out the kinks in a low-pressure environment and showcase to rights holders — and advertisers — that it can handle live sports and the millions of viewers of they draw.