Netflix's live sports efforts start slowly with the Netflix Cup

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Netflix, which for years maintained that live sports was not part of its business model, is now a major player in the space, recently snapping up the NFL's Christmas games. But before focusing on established, conventional sports franchises like NFL football games and WWE RawThe streamer tested the waters with stunt-like, made-for-television sporting events, starting with The Netflix Cup on November 14, 2023.

According to Netflix's second comprehensive viewership report released today, The Netflix Cupa golf game with drivers and golfers from his documentary series Formula 1: Driving for survival And Full of momentumrecorded a measly 700,000 views in the second half of 2023.

Compare that to Netflix’s foray into live comedy, which got off to a flying start with Match 2023 Chris Rock's Selective Outrage particularly. In the first half of 2023, 36.2 million hours were logged, representing 30.9 million views. (In its first viewership report, released in December, Netflix did not report views, only the number of hours watched.)

What is more, Selective outrage An additional 1.5 million views were added in the second half of 2023, underscoring the longer shelf life of live entertainment compared to live sports.

The Netflix Cup followed The Netflix Slaman exhibition match between tennis stars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz in March 2024. The Netflix Cupit didn't make it into the streamer's top 10; we'll have to wait for the next data dump to see if it has improved The Netflix Cup's performance.

The streamer likely has high hopes for its next live sporting event, the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson boxing match. The Netflix slamit pits stars from different generations against each other, although the physical contact nature of boxing raised concerns about this pairing.