Netflix ‘is planning a live sporting event’ – and it could be a celebrity golf tournament

Netflix may be diving into live sports streaming competition for the first time with a celebrity golf tournament.

A new report suggests the event will feature the cast of the popular Formula 1 docuseries ‘Drive to Survive’ and the pro-golf reality show ‘Full Swing’.

While Netflix has not confirmed the live sporting event, the Wall Street Journal reports that it will take place in Las Vegas.

Netflix reportedly lost bids for the live broadcast rights to competitive tennis, cycling and the World Surf League, but is now moving forward with its own show.

Currently, Netflix’s plan for the celebrity golf outing is still in the preliminary stages, sources close to the company have told reporters.

Netflix’s successful behind-the-scenes Formula 1 docuseries have expanded that sport’s fan base

Sources claim that Netflix executives have been hoping for more than a year to get their hands on a piece of the live-streamed sports industry.

While several of Netflix’s biggest competitors, such as Hulu and Amazon Prime, have already invested serious money in big sports rights packages, even the streamer’s tentative bids for more niche leagues haven’t closed any deals yet.

Last year, Netflix unsuccessfully tried to secure the logical link rights to broadcast Formula 1 races live in the United States, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Netflix eventually lost its bid to host the international racing competition to Disney, keeping the competition on ESPN, ESPN2 and ABC for another three years.

The major streamers have diversified into deals with major sports franchises, from baseball to football, to grow their subscriber base and boost ad sales. Netflix’s co-Chief Executive Ted Sarandos has defended the streamer’s belated entry into that competition.

“We are not against sports,” Sarandos said in January. “We’re pro-profit.”

The Co-CEO emphasized that Netflix was still looking for the right opportunities and a bidding strategy for major sports that would still be profitable alongside Netflix’s current business model.

Aussie driver Daniel Ricciardo, 33, became one of the most popular characters on the hit show, but with Ricciardo failing to secure a place on the 2023 grid, fans are unlikely to see much more of him. Can the fan favorite return to Netflix for some celebrity wave?

Producers believe French driver Pierre Gasly could take up the space left by Ricciardo (above) in new seasons of ‘Drive to Survive’. But can the two also compete on the golf course?

The proposed celebrity golf outing, which taps into subscriber interest in two of the platform’s most successful sports-themed reality series, could likely serve as a critical test drive after previous stumbles.

Last April, the planned reunion episode of Netflix’s popular reality show “Love Is Blind” experienced a 75-minute delay as the streamer’s servers frayed under the weight of 6.5 million viewers logging into their Netflix accounts to watch the view special.

The delay in the scheduled airtime from 8 p.m. to 9:15 p.m. ET resulted in fan outrage and numerous apologies from both the streaming network and the show’s hosts.

“I want to say, we’re sorry we’re late,” host Vanessa Lachey told viewers, who admitted the show was now airing in a live-to-tape format. ‘We’re not live anymore but we’re here!’

Netflix executives reportedly view live sports as a vital tool to jump-start their strategic shift toward greater profits through ad revenue.

Their decision to experiment with a live celebrity golf tournament shows that the streamer is acting light-hearted after the public fallout from the failed live streaming of the “Love Is Blind” reunion, according to Ed Desser, head of sports media consultancy Desser Media.

“They need to reassure potential licensors that it’s all going to work before they go to mission-critical sporting events,” Desser said. “This is a relatively low-risk proposal.”