Netflix bets on live events after BTS and Kevin Hart draw 21M views
Netflix says live programming is helping bring in members and ad revenue, even as some events trail its biggest concerts, roasts and sports specials.
By Poppy Nakagawa · Culture Writer
3 min read
Netflix is preparing to put more live events on its calendar after several specials pulled big view counts in the first half of 2026, according to the streamer’s latest audience report and comments from its top executives.
Two live titles, BTS: The Comeback Live, Arirang and The Roast of Kevin Hart, each reached 21 million views and landed among Netflix’s 50 most-watched titles for the first six months of the year, according to the company’s What We Watched report.
Another live draw, Skyscraper Live, brought in 13 million views. The program featured climber Alex Honnold scaling Taipei 101 in Taiwan without ropes, according to Netflix’s description cited in the report.
Live hits, and a few misses
The numbers give Netflix a strong argument for more concerts, comedy events and sports specials. Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters both spoke up for the format on the company’s second-quarter earnings call, where the streamer said live events have accounted for six of its top 10 new member sign-up days across the past five years.
Sarandos said Netflix was pleased with its spending on live programming so far, saying the format helps with subscriber acquisition, advertising revenue, viewer conversation and the launch of new shows. He also said Netflix is increasing its live-event slate.
The format has not delivered across the board. Netflix streamed The Actor Awards Presented by SAG-AFTRA live in March, and the event drew 2 million views. That was below the 4.3 million views Netflix recorded for the same awards last year.
Star Search, the live reality music competition hosted by Anthony Anderson, also had a softer showing. The show features Sarah Michelle Gellar, Chrissy Teigen and Jelly Roll on its judging panel. According to Netflix’s viewership report, its premiere episode drew 2.6 million views, while each of its final three episodes was watched by 600,000 viewers. The series reached Netflix’s top 1,000 titles for the period.
Sports remain part of the push
Netflix also moved further into live sports this week by streaming the 2026 Major League Baseball Home Run Derby for the first time. Sarandos said on the earnings call that the event became Netflix’s most-watched program ever in Japan.
Sarandos said Netflix will keep building a global live-event calendar and add some regional events as part of that effort. The company has been testing a mix of entertainment, comedy, sports and live competition formats as it works out which events can bring viewers in at scale.
Peters said live events help Netflix bring in new members and support advertising, fandom and promotion. He also gave investors a clearer picture of the trade-off: Netflix expects live programming to represent 5% of its content budget this year, but only 1% of total viewing hours.
That math explains the strategy. Netflix is not treating live events as its biggest source of watch time. The company is describing them as attention machines that can pull in subscribers, sell ads and create appointment viewing on a service built around watching whenever viewers want.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.