Netflix VP/Business Development for EMEA Maria Ferreras said that the streaming service will "continue to look to new international partnerships for growth but has no plans to pursue live sports broadcasting," according to Robert Mitchell of VARIETY. Ferreras, speaking at the IBC Conference in Amsterdam on Friday, said that Netflix has "no plans to follow rival Amazon into live sports." She added that the company had "looked to explore sport through its documentary programming," but "while the additional value the streamer could bring to TV shows and film were evident the same wasn't true for live sports coverage." Ferreras: "In terms of live sports there's nothing we can do differently from a television broadcaster, so it doesn't add additional value. You can never say never, but there's no plans to go into that." Mitchell noted Amazon recently received "high levels of consumer complaints over its U.K. coverage of the U.S. Open" (VARIETY.com, 9/14).
LANDMARK ACCOMPLISHMENT: USA TODAY's Mike Snider noted Hulu has a "new star-studded commercial set to be broadcast" tonight during the Emmys, and the timing is "appropriate as Hulu's live TV service, which launched last year and now has 60-plus live channels, now has more than 1 million subscribers." The new ad "aims to get that message across" and features "big-name sports stars" like Rockets G James Harden and Rams QB Jared Goff (USATODAY.com, 9/16).
