Netflix is now ready to go into livestreaming, months after the news broke. Chris Rock will launch a comedy special live on the service in early 2023, according to the service. According to the firm, he is the “first artist” to achieve the honour, and the broadcast will be accessible globally.
Following a Deadline story in May, the company announced its live show approach. Netflix said at the time that it will prioritise unscripted content such as stand-up specials, competitive series, and an upcoming Netflix is a Joke festival. In principle, you could vote on a reality TV show or see an uncut comedy performance.
The expansion comes as no surprise given that several of Netflix’s biggest competitors have at least some sort of live streaming in place. In February, Disney+ live-streamed the Oscar nominations, and this autumn, it will telecast live episodes of Dancing With the Stars. Others are preoccupied with sports. Amazon Prime Video, for example, offers weekly NFL games, but Apple TV+ provides Friday Night Baseball. When you’ve exhausted the standard on-demand fare, these options give you a reason to join a service or remain enrolled.
Netflix has also not shied away from experimenting with forms other than its linear movies and TV series. It has provided quiz programmes and other interactive programming and is expanding its mobile gaming offerings. Livestreams might assist Netflix in diversifying its programming and avoiding a recurrence of last year’s subscriber losses.
