In an attempt to break new ground in the streaming market, Netflix is reportedly negotiating to livestream an upcoming celebrity golf tournament. The event is expected to feature a mix of professional golfers and Formula One drivers, according to insiders cited by the Wall Street Journal on Monday.
The proposed tournament will spotlight celebrities from popular Netflix docuseries, including "Drive to Survive," which delves into the world of Formula One auto-racing, and "Full Swing," a chronicle of the 2022 professional golf season. If the deal comes to fruition, it would mark Netflix's inaugural foray into the realm of sports livestreaming.
The WSJ reports that planning for the fall-scheduled tournament is in its preliminary stages. This development falls in line with Netflix's recent exploration of live sports broadcasting, reflecting its early-stage experiments with live programming. Its debut in live broadcasts was a Chris Rock comedy special held on March 4.
Rival platforms, including Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video, have already started integrating live professional sports into their offerings. They've procured the rights to significant events such as major league soccer and the NFL's Thursday night games respectively.
Such moves are indicative of a growing trend among streaming platforms to leverage live sports as a means to increase their market share amidst a heavily saturated landscape.