Netflix Bets Big on Live Sports: Only 'Buzzy' Events Make the Cut

Netflix is diving deeper into live sports — but only for special, headline-grabbing moments. In a recent interview, Netflix's Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria explained the company's strategy for choosing which games and tournaments to broadcast.

The key word is "event." Netflix isn't interested in airing every game of a season. Instead, it wants games that feel like huge cultural moments — the kind everyone talks about the next day.

"The thing about an event is it's buzzy, cultural... that really sort of unmissable moment," Bajaria said.

What counts as an "event" for Netflix:

• NFL games on Christmas Day (with a Beyoncé halftime show)
• The World Baseball Classic in Japan
• A BTS concert in Seoul
• Alex Honnold climbing the Taipei 101 skyscraper

This season, Netflix is airing five NFL games, including its first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game, two Christmas Day games, and a meaningful Week 18 game. Last week it aired the first-ever regular-season NFL game in Australia (the 49ers beat the Rams 27-7).

Netflix runs on a $20 billion content budget (the money it spends each year on shows, movies, and sports). Because sports rights are so expensive, Netflix is picky — it wants only the most valuable, attention-grabbing content.

Bigger ambitions ahead:

• Netflix already owns the U.S. and Canadian rights to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cup, paying about $200 million for 2027.
• It's interested in bidding for the Men's World Cup in 2030 and 2034.
• It may want international NFL games if the league ever sells them as a package.

Netflix is also exploring a new idea called "ingestion" — letting other media companies' live content appear inside Netflix. YouTube recently did this with NBCUniversal's Peacock. Netflix is testing a similar setup with France's TF1 Group.

The takeaway: Netflix wants to be the home for the sports moments that grab the whole world's attention — not necessarily every game — while carefully spending its huge budget on content that creates real buzz.

This is an AI-generated summary. Read the original article at: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/09/17/netflix-bela-bajaria-live-sports-event-strategy.html