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

Netflix's live sports strategy is predicated on finding games and tournaments it believes can be turned into events. That makes defining "event" paramount to the company's success.

"The thing about an event is it's buzzy, cultural, zeitgeist – that really sort of unmissable moment," said Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria in an exclusive interview last week with CNBC Sport. "There's something in that that just feels like it's very appointment TV, but also with great conversation around it."

Bajaria spoke from Melbourne, Australia, the site of the first-ever, regular-season NFL game in the country. Netflix owned the global rights to the game, which resulted in a 27-7 victory by the San Francisco 49ers over the Los Angeles Rams.

CNBC asked Bajaria if NBC's "Sunday Night Football, " the most popular primetime program for 15 consecutive years, would classify as a Netflix "event."

"If I had a dollar for every time I'm asked that, that money would just pay for 'Sunday Night Football,' and I wouldn't even have to take it out of the $20 billion content budget," Bajaria joked.

"The first NFL game [ever on Netflix] was Christmas Day, right?" Bajaria said. "So we're like, Christmas is a holiday, Beyoncé is gonna do the halftime, and we can sort of turn that into an event. And it can be World Baseball Classic in Japan. It can be Home Run Derby, but it also can be Alex Honnold Taipei 101, when he climbed a building. It can be when we did the BTS concert in Seoul."

Bajaria's explanation suggests a large package of NFL games isn't suitable for Netflix's strategy, which echoes comments from Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos earlier this year. The NFL can potentially renegotiate its media rights for games beginning after the 2029-30 season, when the league has an opt-out clause on its current deal. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told CNBC last week that the league would consider reworking its established game packages.

Netflix is airing five NFL games during the 2026-27 season – last week's Australia game, the first-ever Thanksgiving Eve game, two Christmas Day games, and a Week 18 game that's guaranteed to be one of significance – either to decide a playoff spot or to determine seeding.

The NFL doesn't currently sell a package of international games, but that might be appealing to Netflix if it existed, Bajaria said. There are nine international games this year and 10 scheduled for next season.

"We obviously have this large global audience and a very engaged global audience," Bajaria said. "I think people will probably just go to that as kind of like a natural, 'Would we do international?' We have lots of U.S. members who obviously love NFL and football, and so I think we're always going to continue to have conversations."

Bajaria also confirmed Netflix's potential interest in bidding on the FIFA Men's World Cup in 2030 and 2034. Netflix already has the Women's World Cup U.S. and Canadian rights for 2027 and 2031. CNBC first reported Netflix's interest earlier this year.

"Obviously it's a beloved sport around the world, and we have the Women's World Cup, so I'm really excited about that. We have a great partnership and relationship with FIFA, so we're definitely going to always have those conversations," Bajaria said.