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The Netflix-Sports Cat & Mouse Game

Sports needs Netflix exponentially more than Netflix needs sports. But with holiday NFL games, Women’s World Cup soccer, and a flirtation with the NBA, Netflix’s heart is growing fonder. And Rob Manfred is waiting by the phone.

crystal dunn fifa women's world cup
Sure enough, sports leagues have successfully coaxed Netflix executives to the table for some sports rights: Back in December, Netflix surprised the sports business by outbidding Fox and picking up rights to the Women’s World Cup in 2027 and 2031. Photo: Jose Breton/Pics Action/NurPhoto/Getty Images
John Ourand
April 17, 2025

When it comes to sports programming, the mantra around Netflix has always been to watch what they do, rather than listen to what they say. For instance: While they said they were perfectly content to stick to sports-adjacent docuseries like Quarterback, what they eventually did was acquire a couple nine-figure Christmas Day NFL games. Anyway, with all that in mind, I decided to ring up LightShed’s Rich Greenfield on the day that the streamer released its first-quarter financials.