Netflix to spend $1bn on live shows in 2026

Netflix is looking to drive engagement with more live programming and expects to spend around 5% of its roughly $20bn annual content spend this year on the genre.

The global streamer’s Q2 revenue missed Wall Street expectations while a move to stop publishing its viewing data report – What We Watched – every six months, in favour of an annual release, was also not well received, sending shares 9% lower in after market trading and more than 55% down over the past 12 months.

Engagement was among key concerns for investors on the subsequent earnings call and Netflix top brass were clear about the role that live shows such as Plimsoll Productions’ Skyscraper Live and The Roast of Kevin Hart had on the company’s overall performance.

The Roast of Kevin Hart was 44th in the streamer’s viewing charts, with 21.1m views and 60.4m hours, while Skyscraper Live was the streamer’s 80th most viewed show in the first half of 2026, with 12.6m views and total watch time of 24.4m hours.

That contrasts with shows such as YouTube kids series Ms Rachel, which was the ninth most viewed show with 37.3m views and 113m hours watched, but co-chief executive and president Greg Peters looked to differentiate the role of live.

Noting “plenty of interest” in the topic, he dismissed a “linear relationship between view hours and revenue and profit,” adding that “all hours are not created equal.”

He said that Netflix is expecting to increase its content spend by 10% next year to around $20bn, of which 5% will be spent on live. That live programming is expected to drive only 1% of view hours, however, but the Netflix co-chief exec pointed to its broader effect on the business.

“[Live shows are] good for monetisation, they drive ad revenue, fandom and they’re also a promotional platform, but they do not yield typically as many raw view hours.”

However, six out of the top 10 new member sign-up days over the past five years came alongside live events, Peters continued, highlighting kids animation series – which also accounts for around 5% of spend but equates to around 8% of viewing hours.

“You can see the differences there,” he said, adding that despite the disparity “we think they’re doing the same value for the business.”

‘Regional’ live efforts

While live has become a key focus for the streamer, much of it has been US-focused, with specials and sporting events driving engagement.

The debut episode of Star Struck, its latest foray into live entertainment, secured just 2.6m views and 3.8m hours, with the show falling away quickly. Its lowest ratings were reserved for the semi-final episodes and its final, which each claimed just 600,000 views.

Star Struck was not directly discussed but co-chief Ted Sarandos added that an expansion of “regional” live programming is being explored.

He pointed to shows such the World Baseball Classic in Japan, which became the streamer’s most watched programme in the country, driving “disproportionate sign-ups”.

Sarandos added: “We’re going to continue to build out that global live event calendar and include and expand it to include some regional live events as well.”

Questions over the viewership of second seasons has also emerged of late following a report in Bloomberg, but co-chief exec Ted Sarandos said there has not been “any material change” year-on-year, adding season two “fall off” had “slightly improved” in 2026.

Peters also pointed to “new types” of content including video podcast and cloud TV games as areas that would drive engagement.

Content spend

Despite the expansion into new areas, Sarandos said the “vast majority” of content spend would remain on “core TV series and films”.

He added that there would not be any “hyper-acceleration of content investment” in the coming years, with spending up about 10% this year. “It’s a little higher than the 8% we averaged over the last five years and below the 14% that we averaged over the past decade,” Sarandos said.

The Netflix boss pointed to key shows such as I Will Find You and Korean hit Teach You a Lesson, as well as The Polygamist, a 22-episode South African telenovela, adapted from Sue Nyathi’s novel.

“It’s another great example of our understanding of the local markets and local regions,” Sarandos said, adding that fellow drama Rosario Tijeras – which started life on TV Azteca – was a key LatAm highlight.

Sarandos also doubled down on live programming and its role in bringing in other areas of the business. He pointed to Netflix’s coverage of Major League Baseball’s Home Run Derby in the US.

He pointed to the streamer’s exclusive Hot Ones special, based on the hugely succesful YouTube format, shot on a baseball field, which was also used to promote Will Ferrell’s new series, The Hawk. Sarandos described the trimunverate of IP as “a cool example of the intersection” between the streamer’s core series (The Hawk), exclusive creator content (Hot Ones) and live sport.

Broadcaster deals & free channels

Netflix’s month-old partnership with TF1 in France – allowing subscribers to access the commercial broadcaster’s channels and on demand content – also came under scrutiny, with the company “pleased” with performance to date.

More local programming is now available, he said, while the deal “supports the TF1 brand but also keeps things distinct.”

“We’re going to continue to learn and there’s a lot that we’ll dig into over time. We also think that there’s a lot we can improve in the product experience already that we’ve seen. But if we see additional deals that similarly serve our members that work for our partner, that work for us, we’ll certainly consider them.”

Peters also talked up the potential of expansion into FAST but suggested such a move would be limited to countries with large enough ad markets.

He added that “free is something that we’re going to continue to consider, but we have no near-term plans to launch something.”