Could Netflix’s sports ambitions grow with its ads business?
On Feb. 26, Netflix said it was declining to raise its bid for Warner Bros. and HBO, paving a path for Paramount to acquire all of Warner Bros. Discovery. That same day, Netflix announced another deal: In a partnership with Apple, it will livestream its first Formula 1 race in the U.S. later this year.
In isolation, the Formula 1 deal is a no-brainer for all parties. According to Ampere Analysis, 66% of U.S. F1 fans subscribe to Netflix, while 33% have Apple TV. Netflix is also home to Drive to Survive, a popular docuseries whose new season will also stream on Apple TV as part of the deal. Apple, meanwhile, has the U.S. streaming rights for F1 races, so this “swap” could entice fans on Netflix to hop over to Apple TV to watch more races.
Netflix has been disciplined in prioritizing siloed event programming. Rather than chasing expansive rights deals, the company has focused on discrete live events — such as its Christmas Day NFL games and this F1 partnership — that can draw attention without the cost of year-round sports programming.
“One-off events, and WWE, serve as economical subscription drivers,” said Sam Nursall, research manager at Ampere Analysis. “Currently, they want these smaller packages that have global appeal.”
Still, the move raises key questions: Could Netflix ramp up its sports ambitions after the Warner Bros. acquisition fell through, especially as it looks to build a robust advertising business? After all, Netflix more than doubled ad revenue in 2025 and has big goals for this year. Or does its F1 interest just speak to how the current strategy is already working?
For Julie Clark, senior vice president of media and entertainment at TransUnion, it’s the latter.
“If executed thoughtfully, sports don’t have to be about owning entire leagues; it can be about strategically layering global, fandom-driven events that deepen engagement, boost ad yield and reinforce Netflix as both a content and live entertainment platform,” she told The Current.
But it’s hard to deny that full sports rights aren’t an attractive prospect as Netflix courts advertisers — and it’s not like the company hasn’t pivoted before at the right moment for its business, as it did with advertising.
After all, the NFL could try to renegotiate its broadcast deals this year. Is that tempting? And Netflix’s deal with MLB — which will see it stream multiple events starting this year, including a season opener and the Home Run Derby — could suggest grander goals.
For now, however, Nursall said that he expects Netflix to continue to pursue more economical sports deals.
“Unlike the legacy broadcasters, pay TV carriage fees are not a part of their model, therefore they feel less pressure to have a vast slate of sports content hours,” he said.
That dynamic could also lead to more sublicensing deals similar to F1 partnership. “If legacy buyers continue to spend large amounts on sports rights, they could look to off-load smaller rights packages to ease financial burden,” Nursall said.
At any rate, sports on Netflix are likely to be a draw for advertisers, no matter how big or small.
“Live sports deliver scale and immediacy — two things brands struggle to find in fragmented streaming environments,” said AdOmni COO Luba Giglia. “The opportunity now is operational: how those moments are extended, sequenced and measured across screens. Advertisers will be looking for unified reach and clear performance signals, not just premium inventory.”