Netflix content chief Bela Bajaria defines event strategy as streamer eyes more live sports

Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria outlined the streaming giant's evolving live events and sports strategy, emphasizing a focus on unmissable cultural moments rather than acquiring costly full-season sports packages. Speaking following the first-ever regular-season NFL game held in Australia, Bajaria indicated Netflix is open to bidding on dedicated international NFL game packages once media rights renegotiations open. The company is currently broadcasting five NFL games during the 2026-27 season and is exploring bidding on the 2030 and 2034 FIFA Men's World Cup tournaments. In addition to expanding live sports coverage, Netflix is testing content ingestion partnerships with external media firms, drawing parallels to recent distribution models and existing collaborations with NBCUniversal. Despite rising competition from YouTube, which accounted for 14.2% of streaming viewership in July compared to Netflix's 7.8%, Bajaria reaffirmed that high-quality scripted TV series and films funded by Netflix's estimated $20 billion content budget will remain central to the platform's core growth strategy.