Netflix will air SAG Awards in another step into live broadcasting
- Netflix will livestream this year's SAG Awards on its YouTube channel on Feb. 26.
- The streaming giant plans to air the awards show on its actual platform in 2024.
- Netflix has been developing its own livestreaming technology, which it plans to launch in March with a new Chris Rock stand-up special.
Netflix will exclusively air this year's Screen Actors Guild Awards show in its first partnership with an awards show and its next step into live broadcasting.
The SAG Awards, which will take place Feb. 26, will air live on Netflix's YouTube channel, but not the streamer's own platform. Netflix aims to broadcast the awards show on its actual service in 2024, according to a company spokesperson.
The streaming giant plans to roll out its own livestreaming technology with a Chris Rock stand-up comedy special March 4, the company announced in December. It has been developing its own livestream service since May, as reported by Deadline.
"As we begin to explore live streaming on Netflix, we look forward to partnering with SAG-AFTRA to elevate and expand this special ceremony as a global live event in 2024 and the years to come," said Bela Bajaria, Netflix's head of global television, in a statement Wednesday.
Netflix's venture into live broadcasting comes alongside a variety of new experiments as the company faces a stall in subscriptions. It reported last April that subscriber numbers had declined for the first time in a decade, which it attributed in part to subscribers sharing their passwords with nonpaying users, as well as macroeconomic factors such as inflation.
To address the plateau, Netflix in November rolled out a new ad-supported streaming tier as a cheaper option for subscribers, despite previous resistance to advertising on the platform. Co-CEO Reed Hastings has also said the company would consider adding live sports after the success of its Formula One "Drive to Survive" documentary series.
Since 2007, the SAG Awards has aired on both TNT and TBS, channels owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. TNT has aired the event since 1998. Warner Bros. Discovery parted ways with the SAG Awards in May as the newly merged company restructured.
As awards shows struggle to boost ratings on traditional television broadcasts, other streaming platforms have been eyeing the possibility of scooping them up. Amazon Prime streamed the Country Music Awards for the first time in 2022 and plans to do so again this year.