netflix Eyes Sport Broadcasting Rights

The report also states that US-based Netflix recently bid for the streaming rights to the ATP tennis tour in key European territories, including the UK and France, but later pulled out of the process.

Netflix has considered several other properties in recent months, including the UK rights to the Women’s Tennis Association and cycling competitions, and late least year was in talks to acquire rights to the World Surf League.

The news follows a significant period of decline in Netflix’s subscriptions, as competition from the likes of Disney, Apple and Amazon continues to saturate the streaming market.

This month, Netflix launched a cheaper ad-backed tier in an attempt to boost revenue and subscriber growth.

Now, Netflix looks to be turning its attention to live sport in an effort to regain market share following the success of hit sports documentaries including ‘The Last Dance’ and ‘Sunderland Till’ I Die’. 

It has also watched its competitors enter live sport. Disney and Liberty Media-owned Formula One extended their broadcast partnership last month, while Major League Soccer and Apple TV announced a partnership to stream every game on the app for the next decade. Amazon currently hold the UK rights for rugby union’s Autumn International Series and a number of Premier League football matches.

However, according to the report, Netflix will initially target lower-profile leagues to avoid the mounting costs of bidding for sports rights, while also confident that Netflix could boost the popularity of the lesser-followed given the size of the platform.