Netflix Content Chief Bela Bajaria Defines Event Strategy as Streamer Eyes More Live Sports

 

Netflix Content Chief Bela Bajaria Defines Event Strategy as Streamer Eyes More Live Sports

## Inside the Plan to Turn Netflix From a Place You Watch Into a Place Where Things Happen

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### The Moment Netflix Stopped Being a Library

Let me take you inside a conversation that tells you everything about where Netflix is heading.

It's Thursday, September 17, 2026. Bela Bajaria, Netflix's Chief Content Officer — the woman responsible for what 325 million subscribers around the world watch every night — is sitting down with CNBC's Alex Sherman. And she's explaining something that most people still don't fully understand about the streaming giant.

"We're looking for the unmissable moments," she says. "The things that pull people together. The events that make you say: I have to watch this live, right now, with everyone else".

That's the strategy in a nutshell. Not sports. Not movies. Not TV shows. **Events.**

And it's a strategy that's about to reshape what you watch, when you watch it, and how much you pay for it.

Because here's the thing about Netflix in 2026: it's not just a streaming service anymore. It's becoming something closer to a **broadcast network** — a place where live moments happen, where cultural conversations start, and where advertisers pay premium prices to reach millions of people at the exact same time.

This is the story of how Netflix is reinventing itself for the third time. And it's a story that every American investor, every cord-cutter, and every sports fan needs to understand.

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## Part One: What Bela Bajaria Actually Said

### The "Eventized" Strategy

The core of Bajaria's message is simple: Netflix isn't trying to compete with ESPN. It's not trying to buy every sports package on the market. It's being **selective**.

"The strategy is probably different than other media companies," Bajaria told CNBC. "It's not just in sports, it's what are the live events for us".

She pointed to the first NFL game Netflix ever aired — Christmas Day 2024. "Christmas is a holiday, Beyoncé is gonna do the halftime, and we can sort of turn that into an event," she said. "And it can be World Baseball Classic in Japan. It can be Home Run Derby. ... So, the thing about an event is it's fuzzy cultural zeitgeist — that really sort of unmissable moment".

That phrase — **"unmissable moment"** — is the key. Netflix isn't buying sports rights because it wants to be a sports network. It's buying sports rights because it wants **moments** that generate conversation, drive subscriptions, and attract advertisers.

### The Sunday Night Football Question

But here's where it gets interesting. Bajaria was asked directly whether Netflix would ever bid for a package like **Sunday Night Football** — the crown jewel of the NFL's broadcast rights.

Her answer was telling.

She suggested that Sunday Night Football might "not exactly fit the Netflix strategy" of paying only for games it believes can be "eventized". A Week 9 matchup between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Chicago Bears? That doesn't feel like an unmissable cultural moment. That feels like just another football game.

But she didn't close the door entirely. When asked about an **international package** of NFL games, Bajaria said: "We obviously have this large global audience and a very engaged global audience. ... We have lots of U.S. members who obviously love NFL and football, and so I think we're always going to continue to have conversations".

That's a hint. Netflix isn't interested in the weekly grind of American football. But an international package — games played in London, Mexico City, Melbourne, São Paulo — that's something that could fit the "event" mold.

### The Discipline Factor

Bajaria also emphasized that Netflix will remain **disciplined** with its roughly **$20 billion content budget**. That's a massive number — up about 10% from 2025 — but it's not infinite. Netflix has to choose its spots.

"We should continue to stay the course at our strategy and the investment and being disciplined," she said. But she also acknowledged that Netflix is willing to change direction as viewing habits evolve. "Advertising and live programming" are examples of that flexibility.

That's a CEO-level message: **we're not going to chase every shiny object, but we're not going to be rigid either.**

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## Part Two: Netflix's Live Sports Portfolio — What They've Already Built

### The NFL: Five Games and Growing

Netflix's NFL relationship started small — two Christmas Day games in 2024 — but it's expanding fast.

In 2026, Netflix will stream **five regular-season NFL games**, up from two in 2024 and 2025. The slate includes:

- **Week 1**: San Francisco 49ers vs. Los Angeles Rams from Melbourne, Australia — the NFL's first-ever regular-season game in Australia

- **Thanksgiving Eve**: Green Bay Packers vs. Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium — the NFL's first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game

- **Christmas Day doubleheader**: Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears at Soldier Field (1 p.m. ET) and Buffalo Bills vs. Denver Broncos at Empower Field at Mile High (4:30 p.m. ET)

- **Week 18**: A game on January 9

Last year's Christmas Day broadcast — Detroit Lions vs. Minnesota Vikings — was the **most-streamed NFL regular-season game in U.S. history**. That's the kind of result that justifies the investment.

And the Week 1 Australia game? It drew **18.5 million viewers in the U.S.** and another **3.2 million internationally**. That's a massive audience for a game that aired in the middle of the night for many Americans.

### WWE Raw: The $5 Billion Bet

Netflix's most significant live sports commitment isn't the NFL. It's **WWE**.

In January 2025, Netflix began its exclusive **$5 billion, 10-year deal** to stream WWE's "Monday Night Raw" live. It was a landmark deal — the first time a major weekly live sports entertainment program had moved exclusively to a streaming platform.

The results have been strong. WWE Raw regularly ranks in Netflix's global top ten, and episodes draw millions of viewers. The September 7, 2026 episode drew **2.6 million viewers** and **4.5 million global views**.

And in January 2026, Netflix expanded the relationship by taking over U.S. rights to the **WWE content library** from Peacock. That means every classic WWE match, every pay-per-view, every iconic moment is now on Netflix.

### Boxing: Mayweather vs. Pacquiao and Beyond

Netflix's boxing strategy is pure "event" thinking.

In September 2026, Netflix streamed the **Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao rematch** live from the Sphere in Las Vegas. The original 2015 fight generated over **$600 million in global revenue**. The rematch was one of the most anticipated sporting events of the year.

Netflix also broadcast **Tyson Fury's comeback fight** against Arslanbek Makhmudov from Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London — its first-ever live event broadcast from the United Kingdom.

And in February 2026, Netflix dipped its toes into **MMA** with **Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano** — a matchup that peaked at nearly **17 million global viewers** and averaged **12.4 million**.

That's not a sports network. That's an **event factory**.

### MLB: Home Run Derby, Opening Night, and Field of Dreams

Netflix's baseball strategy is similarly event-focused.

In March 2026, Netflix aired the **MLB season opener** between the New York Yankees and San Francisco Giants — its first-ever live MLB broadcast. The game drew **2.96 million TV viewers**.

In July, Netflix streamed the **T-Mobile Home Run Derby** for the first time, part of a three-year deal with MLB worth **$50 million annually** that also includes the Field of Dreams game.

The Derby was reformatted — switching from a timer-based format to a swing-based format — specifically to make it more "eventized" for Netflix's audience.

### FIFA Women's World Cup: The Crown Jewel

And then there's the biggest bet of all: the **FIFA Women's World Cup**.

In September 2026, Netflix secured the **U.S. broadcasting rights** to the 2027 and 2031 Women's World Cups. Every single match will stream live on Netflix in the United States and Canada.

This is a landmark deal. It's the first time Netflix has acquired the **full audiovisual rights** to a major global sporting competition. And it comes at a moment when women's sports are surging in popularity and value.

### The World Baseball Classic: A Record-Breaking Moment

One of Netflix's most successful live events wasn't even in the U.S.

In March 2026, Netflix streamed the **World Baseball Classic** exclusively in Japan. The tournament drew **31.4 million viewers** across 47 games — making it the most-watched program ever on Netflix in Japan and the biggest global baseball streaming event ever.

That's the power of the "event" strategy. A baseball tournament in Japan isn't a weekly commitment. It's a moment. And moments can be massive.

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## Part Three: The Business Case — Why Live Events Matter

### Acquisition and Retention

Bajaria explained the business logic clearly: live events attract new subscribers, and Netflix's broader library keeps them.

"You may come for this one big event that you've heard of, or you're a big fan of that sport," she said. But then viewers "stay because Netflix continues to invest in other programming".

That's the classic **acquisition-retention flywheel**. A WWE fan signs up for Raw. They discover "Stranger Things." They stay. A boxing fan signs up for Mayweather-Pacquiao. They discover "Wednesday." They stay.

Live events are the **hook**. The library is the **glue**.

### Advertising Revenue

Live events are also a **massive advertising opportunity**.

Sports and major events give advertisers access to large, engaged, global audiences watching at the same time. That's premium inventory — the kind of thing advertisers pay top dollar for.

Netflix's advertising tier has been growing rapidly. And live sports are the perfect content to accelerate that growth. When 18.5 million people watch an NFL game live, advertisers can reach all of them at once — something that's increasingly rare in a fragmented media landscape.

### The Financial Picture

Netflix reported **Q2 2026 revenue of $12.6 billion**, up **13% year-over-year**, with diluted EPS of $0.80. The company narrowed its full-year 2026 revenue forecast to **$51.0 billion–$51.4 billion** and reaffirmed its operating margin outlook of **31.5%**.

Content spending is expected to hit approximately **$20 billion in 2026**, up about 10% from 2025. And live events are a growing slice of that budget — perhaps **5%** of total content spending, according to some estimates.

That might not sound like much. But 5% of $20 billion is **$1 billion**. And that's before you factor in the advertising revenue and subscriber acquisition that live events drive.

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## Part Four: The Competitive Landscape

### Netflix vs. Disney/ESPN

Netflix isn't trying to compete head-to-head with Disney's ESPN. That's not the game it's playing.

Disney paid **$2.6 billion per year** for the NBA. It pays billions for Monday Night Football. It owns the SEC, the ACC, and a massive portfolio of college sports. ESPN is a **sports network**. Netflix is an **events company**.

That distinction matters. Netflix doesn't want to be the place you go for a Tuesday night regular-season game. It wants to be the place you go for the **game everyone is talking about**.

### Netflix vs. Amazon

Amazon Prime Video has been aggressive in live sports. It streams **Thursday Night Football**, has a package of **UEFA Champions League** matches, and recently expanded into the NBA.

But Amazon's approach is different. Amazon is using sports to drive **Prime subscriptions** and **e-commerce**. Netflix is using sports to drive **advertising** and **engagement**.

Both strategies can work. They're just different.

### Netflix vs. YouTube

Bajaria was asked directly about YouTube's dominance among younger viewers. She pushed back hard.

"I think it's too hand-wavy or dismissive to say, 'Oh, young people only watch short things.' That's not true," she said. She argued that young viewers will show up when Netflix makes compelling shows they want to watch, citing "Wednesday" and "Stranger Things".

That's a confident answer from someone who has spent her career in content. And she's right — great shows still draw young audiences. But YouTube's scale and its ability to monetize user-generated content are real threats. Netflix's answer is to keep investing in premium content — including live events — that YouTube can't replicate.

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## Part Five: What This Means for You

### If You're a Netflix Subscriber

Expect more live events. More sports. More moments designed to make you say: "I have to watch this now."

Expect **price increases**. Netflix has been raising prices to fund its $20 billion content budget. The more it spends on live sports, the more pressure there is to raise prices or grow the advertising tier.

And expect **more ads**. Live sports are the perfect vehicle for advertising. If you're on the ad-supported tier, you'll see more sports — and more commercials.

### If You're an Investor

Netflix is making a calculated bet that live events are the next phase of growth.

The company has proven it can attract massive audiences for live moments. The NFL Christmas games, the World Baseball Classic, the boxing matches — these have all drawn millions of viewers.

But the costs are significant. The WWE deal alone is **$5 billion**. The NFL package is rumored to be worth hundreds of millions. And the FIFA Women's World Cup deal, while terms weren't disclosed, was likely substantial.

The question is whether the advertising revenue and subscriber growth justify the investment. So far, the signs are positive. But this is a long-term play, and investors need to be patient.

### If You're a Sports Fan

The good news: more sports are moving to streaming, and Netflix is investing heavily in premium production quality.

The bad news: you're going to need a Netflix subscription to watch some of the biggest events in sports. And if you want to watch everything, you're going to need multiple subscriptions — Netflix, Amazon, Disney+, and whatever else comes next.

The era of "one subscription, everything" is over. The era of **fragmentation** is here.

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## Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

### Q1: What is Bela Bajaria's strategy for Netflix?

Bajaria's strategy is to pursue **"eventized" live moments** that generate cultural relevance, conversation, and appointment viewing. Netflix isn't trying to be a sports network — it's selectively acquiring rights to events it believes can become "unmissable moments".

### Q2: What is an "eventized" moment?

An eventized moment is something that people feel compelled to watch **live, in real time, together**. Examples include Christmas Day NFL games, the World Baseball Classic, a Mayweather-Pacquiao boxing match, or a BTS concert.

### Q3: How many NFL games will Netflix stream in 2026?

Netflix will stream **five regular-season NFL games** in 2026, including a Week 1 game in Australia, a Thanksgiving Eve game, and a Christmas Day doubleheader.

### Q4: Why won't Netflix bid for Sunday Night Football?

Bajaria suggested that Sunday Night Football might "not exactly fit the Netflix strategy" of paying only for games it believes can be "eventized." A Week 9 regular-season game doesn't feel like an unmissable cultural moment.

### Q5: What is Netflix's WWE deal?

Netflix has an exclusive **$5 billion, 10-year deal** to stream WWE's "Monday Night Raw" live. It also acquired the U.S. rights to the WWE content library in January 2026.

### Q6: What boxing matches has Netflix streamed?

Netflix streamed the **Floyd Mayweather Jr. vs. Manny Pacquiao rematch** in September 2026, **Tyson Fury's comeback fight** against Arslanbek Makhmudov, and **Ronda Rousey vs. Gina Carano** in MMA.

### Q7: What is Netflix's MLB deal?

Netflix has a **three-year, $50 million per year deal** with MLB that includes the **Home Run Derby**, **Opening Night**, and the **Field of Dreams Game**.

### Q8: What is the FIFA Women's World Cup deal?

Netflix secured the **U.S. broadcasting rights** to the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women's World Cups. Every match will stream live on Netflix in the United States and Canada.

### Q9: How many viewers watched the World Baseball Classic on Netflix?

The 2026 World Baseball Classic drew **31.4 million viewers** in Japan across 47 games — making it the most-watched program ever on Netflix in Japan.

### Q10: What is Netflix's content budget?

Netflix plans to spend approximately **$20 billion on content in 2026**, up about 10% from 2025.

### Q11: What was Netflix's Q2 2026 revenue?

Netflix reported **Q2 2026 revenue of $12.6 billion**, up **13% year-over-year**, with diluted EPS of $0.80.

### Q12: How does Netflix compete with YouTube?

Bajaria pushed back on the idea that young people only watch short-form content. She argued that compelling shows like "Wednesday" and "Stranger Things" still draw young viewers, and Netflix offers vertical video, podcasts, and animation alongside premium content.

### Q13: Will Netflix raise prices again?

Netflix has been raising prices to fund its content budget. The more it spends on live sports, the more pressure there is to raise prices or grow the advertising tier.

### Q14: What should investors watch?

Watch subscriber growth, advertising revenue, and the return on investment from live sports deals. The WWE deal, the NFL package, and the FIFA Women's World Cup are all significant bets that need to pay off.

### Q15: Is Netflix becoming a sports network?

No. Netflix is becoming an **events company**. It's selectively acquiring rights to moments it believes can generate cultural relevance, conversation, and appointment viewing — not trying to compete with ESPN or Fox Sports.

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## Conclusion: The Event Is Everything

Let's step back and take stock of where Netflix is heading.

Bela Bajaria laid out a vision that's simple, ambitious, and unlike anything Netflix has done before. The company that started as a DVD-by-mail service, then became a streaming library, then became a studio, is now becoming something else entirely: an **events platform**.

Not a sports network. Not a broadcast channel. An events platform.

The strategy is to find moments that bring people together — Christmas Day football, a boxing superfight, a baseball tournament in Japan, a K-pop comeback concert, a women's World Cup — and make them **unmissable**.

It's a strategy that requires spending. Lots of it. The WWE deal alone is $5 billion. The NFL package is worth hundreds of millions. The FIFA deal was expensive. And the content budget is $20 billion.

But it's also a strategy that generates massive audiences. 18.5 million viewers for an NFL game. 31.4 million for the World Baseball Classic. 17 million for a boxing match. Those are numbers that advertisers pay premium prices for.

The bet is that live events drive subscriptions, retention, advertising revenue, and cultural relevance — and that those things justify the cost.

It's a big bet. But Netflix has made big bets before. And it's won most of them.

The next few years will tell us whether this one pays off.

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## Disclaimer

This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, investment, or legal advice. The views expressed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of any financial institution. Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Readers should consult with a qualified financial advisor before making any investment decisions. The author is not responsible for any financial losses incurred as a result of actions taken based on the information provided in this article. All data and figures cited are sourced from publicly available reports and are subject to change.