Netflix considers investing in sports leagues - bids for streaming rights

According to the Wall Street Journal, Netflix is currently looking for ways to expand its business. The company is actively considering offering live sports on its platform. While Netflix wants this program, it doesn't want it to "cost too much". However, the insiders did not state how much Netflix considers as "too much". Netflix recently bid for the streaming rights of the men's Professional Tennis Association (ATP). It did bid for some European national tennis tours, including France and the United Kingdom. However, it eventually abandoned the bid along the way.

Meanwhile, Netflix has discussed bidding for a range of other events. This includes the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) and cycling rights in the UK. In addition, Netflix executives have discussed buying lesser-known sports leagues This is to avoid rising bidding costs for sports rights. Insiders claim that Netflix will not go for popular sports. It will start with the less popular sports that probably will not cost much. After checking the impact of these less popular sports, it can now assess its next line of action.

Late last year, Netflix held talks for a deal with the World Surf League. However, the talks fell apart because the two sides could not agree on a price. This shows that Netflix is probably seeking a really "cheap" sport. If it couldn't reach an agreement with the World Surf League, then it might find it really hard to strike a deal.

Financial data shows that Netflix’s revenue in the third quarter hit $7.926 billion. This is a year-on-year increase of 5.9%. The company also records a net profit of $1.398 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 3.5%. The total number of paying subscribers to Netflix's global streaming service hit 223.09 million in the third quarter. This is an increase of 4.5% year over year. The company is doing all it can to keep its subscribers. Any small mistake by the company could lead to a loss of subscribers as we have seen happen in the past.