Netflix exec talks larger NFL package, airing the Women’s World Cup, more
Netflix exec talks larger NFL package, airing the Women’s World Cup, more
Spitzer talked about the balance the streamer has to strike for World Cup matches, its desire for more NFL game, and other topics with SBJ’s Richard Deitsch.
It wasn’t all that long ago that Netflix had zero live content and an affirmed aversion to live sports. But in 2026, the streamer is regularly airing weekly episodes of WWE’s “Monday Raw,” live MLB games and events, multiple boxing and MMA cards, and will exclusively broadcast five NFL games throughout the season. Netflix vice president of global live sports and entertainment Gabe Spitzer has been a busy man of late, but he found time to sit down with Sports Business Journal’s Richard Deitsch for an episode of Deitsch's Sports Media podcast to discuss the streamer’s NFL pursuit, as well as its plans for the 2027 and 2031 FIFA Women’s World Cups.
Key Details:
- Go global: Netflix specifically pursued an international game to appeal to its global audience.
- Walk the line: Spitzer discussed the importance of appealing to different fan groups for the Women’s World Cup.
- Confident tone: Netflix is ready to talk with FIFA about the rights for the Men’s World Cup.
Spitzer gave Deitsch more details on the streamer’s pursuit of a larger NFL package this season, which kicks off with the second game of the season between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams on Thursday evening from Melbourne, Australia. The streamer went from two games in 2025 to five in 2026, and was reportedly in the market for an international game as far back as March. The streamer ultimately secured the Week 1 contest and will also air a game on Thanksgiving Eve, its traditional Christmas Day doubleheader, and a game in Week 18.
Spitzer told Deitsch the streamer wanted to be “intentional” in picking spotlight moments throughout the season as it grew its game inventory.
“A Week 1 game says Netflix is in the NFL business and live sports business,” Spitzer said. “Thanksgiving Eve is obviously an exciting one with Rams-Packers in L.A., and it’s also a date that they’ve never done before. So for our first two games this year, it’s two firsts for us and for the NFL.”
The two also discussed Netflix’s plans for its upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup broadcasts. The streamer will be the broadcast home for the tournament in the U.S. and Puerto Rico in both 2027 and 2031, and Spitzer acknowledged the challenge of having to host eight-hour days filled with live programming, but said he has “full confidence” that the streamer will be able to deliver match broadcasts reliably.
Netflix has to walk a tightrope with its World Cup streams, a fact Spitzer acknowledged. Every World Cup partner has to find a way to appeal to passionate soccer fans as well as more casual viewers, and Spitzer discussed just how tricky that will be for the Women’s World Cup.
“If you’re in the U.S., you might just watch the U.S. games, or if you are in Canada, you might watch the Canada games,” he said. “We have to make a World Cup for all of them. But I really think in the way we’re approaching it, we have to nail it with the hardcore fans first. If they’ve bought in and they think we’re telling the World Cup story in the right way and the coverage is strong, they’re gonna be the advocates for those other two thirds.”
Netflix has already signaled its interest in at least discussingbidding the rights for the 2030 FIFA Men’s World Cup, and Spitzer reiterated that interest on Deitsch’s podcast. He cautioned, however, that Netflix’s interest doesn’t necessarily guarantee a bid, and that the streamer has interest in global rights to the World Cup, not just regional.
“We are a global company,” Spitzer said. “We are in many different countries around the world. We just had the World Baseball Classic rights in Japan only. Even when we’re having conversations with FIFA, I’d say it’s not necessarily just U.S. specific. We could be looking at other markets. We’ll see how everything shakes out.”
The world’s largest streamer is still taking deliberate steps into the world of sports, but it’s not hard to imagine Netflix with a much larger inventory of live sporting events in the next five to 10 years. The company is still walking when it comes to sports, for the moment, but Netflix feels poised to start running sooner rather than later.
Netflix
Netflix is a leading subscription-based video streaming service that offers on-demand access to an extensive library of over 3,000 movies, 2,000+ TV shows, and a growing collection of acclaimed Netflix originals. Renowned for producing groundbreaking content, Netflix has become a cultural powerhouse with hit originals like “Stranger Things,” “Wednesday,” “Squid Game,” “The Crown,” “Tiger King,” “Bridgerton,” “The Witcher,” and “Black Mirror.”