Netflix Co-CEO Sarandos Says No Bids on Full Sports Seasons

Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company's push into live sports does not include bids for full-season rights packages from any league.

"We’re not bidding on whole season of sports, including the NFL," Sarandos told Fox Business Network's "Mornings with Maria" on Tuesday. Netflix has focused on select events so far, such as Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson and the New York Yankees' opening-day shutout of the San Francisco Giants.

Sarandos' stance comes as the NFL faces federal scrutiny over the fragmentation of sports rights. Critics say the trend makes it harder and more expensive for fans to watch games.

"Remember, most folks are paying for television through pay-television packages that are much more expensive than Netflix," Sarandos said. Netflix's ad-supported tier starts at $8.99 per month as of May, with the standard plan at $19.99 per month and the premium tier at $26.99 per month. Prices rise with added members, and the basic plan is discontinued.

"As viewers move a little bit from linear more and more into streaming and on-demand, if the games aren’t there, it seems kind of ridiculous. You don’t run in the opposite direction of the American consumer," Sarandos added.

Netflix will stream an exclusive Christmas Day NFL doubleheader this fall and expand to five games in the 2026 season. That includes the league's first game in Australia in Week 1 and a Thanksgiving Eve matchup.

"This is something that is great for the consumer because it gives an inexpensive, very affordable way to watch sports, and television, and movies, and kids programming, and podcasts, and play games. All those things for $8.99 is an amazing proposition for consumers," Sarandos said.

He addressed concerns about regulatory exemptions for streaming platforms acquiring league inventory. "It’s great for the leagues that they have an active competitive base of folks bidding for those games, so that’s valuable. I think it’s an important part to the American success story of the economy, is that you can lean into it and be competitive, and you have to deliver."

Sarandos pushed back on fears that tech companies will control premium entertainment. "I’d say people probably said the same thing when pay-television, which most people are probably watching this show on right now, came in and took the place of TV over the antenna. This is kind of a natural evolution of technology and consumer demand."

A March Fox News poll found 72 percent of sports fans believe major events should stay free on broadcast TV. NFL fans need YouTube TV for "NFL Sunday Ticket" plus subscriptions to Amazon Prime, Peacock and Netflix to access every game. Those services total more than $1,500 a year, excluding cable fees or Wi-Fi costs.

Front Office Sports reported the NFL Honors ceremony will move to Netflix starting in February ahead of the 2027 Super Bowl on Feb. 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.