Worldwide Netflix viewers were “treated to a format-busting televised match” with no advertising breaks or conventional b-roll packagesGetty Images
Netflix “stuck the landing on a star-studded exhibition match” between Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz this weekend, as the “Netflix Slam” was “most effective as a lush advertisement for the streamer as a fledgling live sports destination,” according to Matt Donnelly of VARIETY. Branding was “so pervasive in the hotel and casino” at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas that pedestrians “lined up 100 deep to take photos in front of a ‘Netflix Slam’ sign, installed on a massive wall of tennis balls.” Worldwide Netflix viewers were “treated to a format-busting televised match” with no advertising breaks or conventional b-roll packages. In addition, a group of tennis veterans, including Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick, “served live commentary panel-style.” This is the second-ever live sporting event to air on Netflix, following a golf event featuring PGA Tour players and F1 drivers last year. When asked "how many of these splashy live events Netflix was looking to do each year in the sports category," Netflix VP/Nonfiction Sports Gabe Spitzer said that there was “no set volume.” He views live programming as an "extension of his division’s filmed sports content." Spitzer: “Look at a traditional sports network that has a ton of live games, and maybe they’ll put on a documentary after and hope people watch it. This is almost the inverse. We’ve built some great momentum and great viewership for our sports documentaries and [live] is an extension of that.” The Slam was also a “boon for the Mandalay Bay.” The venue “sold out its nearly 10,000 arena seats, with many Spanish-speaking devotees of national heroes Nadal and Alcaraz.” While the event aired live in the afternoon in the U.S., it was primetime in Spain. Netflix “leaned heavily into the global-facing nature of the match and held press conferences and courtside commentary in both English and Spanish” (VARIETY, 3/4).
