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Co-CEO of Netflix Inc. Ted Sarandos said on Tuesday that he has yet to see a path to profitability in live sports on the streaming service.
Sarandos said the economics of professional sports are built around the economics of television — and buying the rights is expensive.
“We haven’t seen a profitable path for major sports rentals today,” Sarandos said at the UBS Global TMT conference.
Rival streaming services Apple TV+ and Amazon Prime Video have added live professional sports by acquiring the rights to Major League Soccer and Thursday night NFL games. NBCUniversal simulcasts on Peacock the Sunday Night Football games it televises.
Sarandos said Netflix has been able to add subscribers without the lure of major sporting events, such as the Super Bowl. He said he was “confident” the service could be doubled without live streaming, though he didn’t rule it out entirely.
“We’re not against sports, we’re just for profit,” Sarandos said. “We still need to figure out how to do that.”
The move supports Netflix’s efforts to ensure quality content, at a time when investors and analysts are focusing more on the profitability of streaming companies.
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