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Longtime Pardon the Interruption host Michael Wilbon has frequently deployed the word “slurp” (or slurping, slurpage, slurpers, etc.) as a, well, descriptive way to call out any overly effusive behavior.
For me, it’s the first word that comes to mind when I’m thinking about how the NFL’s broadcast partners treat the league. Earlier this year, Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch suggested that the NFL’s impending 2029 media rights opt-out, which poses a near-existential threat to the company, would be “an opportunity” to “deepen our relationship” with the league. In other words, “we’re ready to assume the position, Mr. Goodell.”
Of course, this is the case. The NFL is second to none in terms of live programming that can draw a massive, broad-based audience.
It was perhaps surprising to some when Netflix CEO Greg Peters appeared at a Bloomberg conference earlier this week and suggested that a regular package of NFL games “doesn’t really fit our strategy as we understand it right now.” The comment comes after another Netflix executive, Bela Bajaria, (kind of sort of) remarked earlier this year that Netflix would be interested in a package of Sunday afternoon games were they to become available.
Bajaria’s comments, which came under duress from the ace Hollywood interviewer Matthew Belloni, left plenty of room for interpretation, though many outlets covered her answer as a sign of Netflix’s particular interest in the NFL anyway.
Perhaps Peters’ recent remarks were designed to reel back that perception. “We think about what we’re doing as an events strategy, and turns out … sports are big events … and so we can plug those into that strategy, but we also want to make sure that we’re being really, really disciplined about … are we buying, are we investing in ways that are profitable for the business and some of the big league sports things,” Peters said. “We don’t actually have a way to figure out that math.”
Netflix has a history of saying one thing publicly but doing another. The two most high-profile examples would be the streamer’s stance on password sharing, which it famously encouraged as recently as 2017 before cracking down on the practice a couple years ago, and its stance on advertising, which former CEO and current chairman Reed Hastings described as exploitative in 2019, suggesting Netflix would remain a “respite” from ads, before launching an ad-supported tier in 2022.
In the case of Netflix’s future relationship with the NFL, the CEO’s recent comments reflect the streamer’s strength in the broader media landscape. Unlike the NFL’s other broadcast partners, Netflix doesn’t need the league to survive and thrive. It can afford not to have the NFL when legacy media companies need the league more than ever.
So when Peters talks publicly about how the NFL “doesn’t really fit our strategy,” it’s a way of signaling to the NFL that it can’t be pushed around like the league’s other partners.
The strategy is decidedly different from its streaming giant peers at Google and Amazon, who have taken a more slurp-heavy approach in their relationship with the league. In doing so, they’re playing directly into the league’s hands, at least according to media consultant Patrick Crakes, who suggests effusiveness from streamers only serves to “shadow pump future rights fee bids.”
“We are constantly dealing with situations where our competitors outbid us, and what I try and remember with our team is we should bid up to the point where we think it’s going to deliver back value, back to business,” Peters said when addressing a question about Netflix’s interest in UFC, which ultimately went to Paramount for over $1 billion per year.
With history as our guide, it’s safe to say Netflix is playing the long game here. They aren’t going to overpay for sports, nor are they going to help artificially drive up the price of live sports rights. No matter what the company says publicly, it reserves the right to reverse course, as it has done so often in the past.
So don’t be fooled. Netflix is still interested in the NFL. They have Christmas Day games after all! However, don’t think the company will continue to sacrifice its leverage, as some of its competitors have.
About Drew Lerner
Drew Lerner is a staff writer for Awful Announcing and an aspiring cable subscriber. He previously covered sports media for Sports Media Watch. Future beat writer for the Oasis reunion tour.