Netflix co-CEO clarifies streaming giant’s live sports strategy amid NFL lineup expansion, federal scrutiny

Streaming elephantine Netflix’s propulsion into unrecorded sports has ranged from the WWE and Formula 1 to prime MLB and NFL games.

While the inaugural has drawn immoderate criticism, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the strategy is not aimed astatine securing full-season rights packages for immoderate sports league."

"We’re not bidding connected full play of sports, including the NFL," Sarandos told Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" connected Tuesday. So far, Sarandos' comments person held existent with Netflix prioritizing marquee events, including Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and the New York Yankees' opening-day shutout of the San Fransisco Giants.

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The Netflix logo is displayed connected a gathering successful the Hollywood vicinity of Los Angeles, California, connected Dec. 2, 2025. (Mike Blake/Reuters)

Sarandos holding a steadfast enactment connected the company's stance comes amid ongoing national scrutiny into NFL, and much broadly, the inclination of sports rights increasing much fragmented. Some person argued the inclination makes its astir costly and yet hard for fans to presumption games.

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However, national scrutiny into sports fragmentation has brought the taxable of unrecorded sports connected streaming services to the forefront.

"Remember, astir folks are paying for tv done pay-television packages that are overmuch much costly than Netflix," Sarandos said, suggesting that contempt being technically free, broadcast networks are astir often bundled wrong paid services.

Ted Sarandos, CEO of Netflix, speaks during the Netflix Studios Fort Monmouth groundbreaking successful Eatontown, New Jersey, connected May 13, 2025. (Tanya Breen/Asbury Park Press / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

As of May, Netflix’s introductory ad-supported tier starts astatine $8.99 per month. The modular program begins astatine $19.99 per month, portion the premium tier starts astatine $26.99 per month. Prices tin summation if subscribers adhd further members. The basal program has been discontinued.

"As viewers determination a small spot from linear much and much into streaming and on-demand, if the games aren’t there, it seems benignant of ridiculous. You don’t tally successful the other absorption of the American consumer," Sarandos continued.

This fall, Netflix volition erstwhile again person an exclusive model for a Christmas Day NFL doubleheader portion expanding its wide footprint to 5 games during the 2026 season. The league’s first-ever crippled successful Australia successful Week 1 volition watercourse exclusively connected Netflix, portion a Thanksgiving Eve matchup volition besides beryllium included successful the California-based company’s expanded NFL rights package.

Netflix and NFL signage advertises the NFL's 2 Christmas Day marquee games streaming unrecorded connected Netflix successful New Orleans, Louisiana, connected Dec. 1, 2024. (Aaron M. Sprecher/Getty Images)

"This is thing that is large for the user due to the fact that it gives an inexpensive, precise affordable mode to ticker sports, and television, and movies, and kids programming, and podcasts, and play games. All those things for $8.99 is an astonishing proposition for consumers," Sarandos said, addressing regulatory scrutiny of sports streaming rights and whether exemptions should use erstwhile non-linear platforms get a stock of a league’s inventory.

"It’s large for the leagues that they person an progressive competitory basal of folks bidding for those games, truthful that’s valuable. I deliberation it’s an important portion to the American occurrence communicative of the economy, is that you tin thin into it and beryllium competitive, and you person to deliver."

Amid concerns that lone a prime fig of tech companies could upwind up controlling premium entertainment, Sarandos pushed back, arguing, Sarandos countered, arguing, "I’d accidental radical astir apt said the aforesaid happening erstwhile pay-television, which astir radical are astir apt watching this amusement connected close now, came successful and took the spot of TV implicit the antenna. This is benignant of a earthy improvement of exertion and user demand."

A Fox News poll in March indicated that 72% of sports fans deliberation large sporting events should enactment escaped connected broadcast TV, amid reports that the NFL is considering allowing teams to merchantability the rights to preseason games to streaming services.

NFL fans who privation entree to each crippled request to acquisition YouTube TV for "NFL Sunday Ticket," successful summation to the costly subscriptions for each the streaming services the NFL broadcasts on.

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Those streaming services are Amazon Prime, Peacock and Netflix. The operation of those respective services is implicit $1,500 a year, and that doesn’t see the fees that travel with basal cablegram packages oregon high-speed Wi-Fi that is needed to accommodate the platforms.

Front Office Sports reported the yearly NFL Honors ceremony, which takes spot successful the days starring up to the Super Bowl successful the big city, is expected to determination to Netflix opening successful February. The 2027 Super Bowl is scheduled to footwear disconnected connected Feb. 14 from SoFi Stadium successful Inglewood, California.

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