Even amidst rapidly escalating competition in streaming, Netflix continues to stand out, posting yet another strong quarter.

The company said late Thursday it generated $11.08 billion in revenue in the second quarter, up 16% from the comparable period last year, and $3.13 billion in net income, up 46%. Both figures beat analyst expectations and extended the accelerating momentum shown by Netflix during the first quarter. 

“We have a belief and expectation that the demand for not only entertainment, but for us specifically, will remain strong,” said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters in an earnings call.

The results arrive as Netflix’s spot in the monthly Nielsen Gauge, which measures television usage across all platforms, has shown the company with a plateauing market share. Netflix garnered 8.3% of total U.S. TV viewing in June, nearly identical to its percentage a year ago. While the overall streaming landscape continues to grow and take share from traditional broadcast and cable TV, rivals such as YouTube and Roku are claiming much of that shift. 

As was the case in the spring, Netflix remains viewed as a safe harbor for investors amid broader economic turbulence, with its tariff-resistant business model and fast-growing revenue. To that end, Netflix also raised its full-year revenue outlook from a prior range of $43.5 billion to $44.5 billion to a new one of $44.8 billion to $45.2 billion.

The company’s stock has grown by 44% this year and has nearly doubled in the last 12 months, reaching $1,274.17 per share. Investors, however, remain on the hunt for even greater growth, and sent Netflix shares down by about 1% in after-hours trading Thursday. 

Sports Watching

Since the last earnings report for Netflix, the streamer learned its Christmas NFL doubleheader in 2025 will include the Cowboys visiting the Commanders, followed by the Lions facing the Vikings. With the twin bill of attractive, late-season matchups of division rivals, Netflix seeks to beat its 2024 Christmas viewership, which averaged more than 24 million viewers and set a league streaming record.

A September boxing match between Canelo Álvarez and Terence Crawford furthers an advancing live-event strategy for Netflix. 

Netflix’s overall approach to sports rights, however, remains more measured than many of its competitors in both streaming and linear TV.

“Our live strategy and our sports strategy are unchanged,” said Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos. “We remain focused on ownable, big, breakthrough events, because our audiences really love them. Anything we chase in the events space or in the sports space has got to make economic sense as well. We bring a lot to the table, and the deals that we make have to reflect that.”

T.J. Watt is entering training camp with a historic new contract. 

On Thursday, the star Steelers edge rusher agreed to a three-year, $123 million contract with $108 million fully guaranteed. The deal was first reported by ESPN.

The $41 million average annual salary just beats Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase’s $40.25 million to make Watt the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott’s record-setting $60 million annual salary remains the NFL’s highest overall, underscoring how quarterbacks continue to shape the financial ceiling for all positions.

Watt, 30, has played his entire career in Pittsburgh after being selected 30th overall by the Steelers in the 2017 NFL Draft. The younger brother of former Texans star J.J. Watt, T.J. has been a four-time All-Pro and was the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 2021. That year, he tied Michael Strahan’s single-season sacks record of 22.5. 

No player has more sacks than Watt’s 108 since he entered the NFL eight years ago. 

Watt’s career earnings thus far are roughly $111 million, according to Spotrac, which he will more than double with his new contract. This season, Watt is slated to make $21 million as part of a four-year, $112 million contract he signed in 2021. 

The deal has broad implications for two other star edge rushers: the Cowboys’ Micah Parsons and Bengals’ Trey Hendrickson. The 25-year-old Parsons has spent months discussing negotiations on his podcast, saying Dallas owner and GM Jerry Jones should call his agent about a deal. The 30-year-old Hendrickson has said he will not play without a new contract, and he reportedly asked for a trade in March. Top players tend to reset the market at their position when signing new deals, as we saw multiple times this offseason.

The deal concludes a massive offseason for the Steelers, who also signed Aaron Rodgers and traded for DK Metcalf and Jalen Ramsey. The team is expected to open training camp on Wednesday. 

The Cavaliers vs. the Warriors is one of the NBA’s strongest rivalries in recent history as the teams battled in four consecutive Finals in the mid-to-late 2010s.

Golden State has carried its formula to its organization’s inaugural season in the WNBA. The Valkyries enter the All-Star break with a 10–12 record and have sold out all 11 of their home games—setting the precedent for the five expansion teams coming from 2026 to 2030, including a team in Cleveland in 2028.

Cleveland’s WNBA team, like Golden State, is led by the ownership group of its NBA counterpart—a recipe the WNBA followed for the three expansion teams announced at the end of June. Cleveland is led by Rock Entertainment Group (REG), which is owned by Dan Gilbert and also runs the NBA G League’s Cleveland Charge and AHL’s Cleveland Monsters.

A large part of the Valkyries’ early success stems from the basketball infrastructure it had already established with its NBA team. They share Chase Center with the Warriors, and their practice facility in Oakland is the renovated version of the Warriors’ previous facility.

Cleveland is following a similar formula. Its WNBA franchise will share Rocket Arena with the Cavaliers and will practice at the Cleveland Clinic Courts, the Cavs’ current practice facility, when the NBA team moves into the Clinic Global Peak Performance Center.

“This is going to be a unified group,” Rock Entertainment Group CEO Nic Barlage tells Front Office Sports. “We’re really going to have a shared services model. Everything from training to modality to working out and nutrition.” 

Barlage said the organization’s already established basketball infrastructure was a key selling point in its 114-page pitch deck to the WNBA. On top of the reported $250 million expansion fee, he says REG promises a nine-figure investment for the WNBA franchise, including renovation and new office spaces in downtown Cleveland.

Another point of emphasis in the pitch was capturing a wider audience, one that went beyond northeast Ohio, considering the franchise will be the first major women’s professional team in the region.

“We want this to be Cleveland’s team, Columbus’s team, Cincinnati’s team, Pittsburgh’s team, Buffalo’s team,” Barlage says.

The franchise is off to a promising start in capturing an audience, selling 4,400 season-ticket deposits in less than three weeks since the franchise was announced. The deposit, which does not guarantee a season ticket, but places fans on a priority wait-list for membership. At $28 apiece, the team has earned more than $120,000.

The team tells Front Office Sports it aims to hit 5,000 by the end of the month. The Valkyries sold 15,000 season-ticket deposits by the end of July 2024, nine months after the team was officially announced. Golden State announced in March that it became the first franchise in WNBA history to sell 10,000 season tickets.

CBA Watchers

As WNBA All-Star weekend begins Friday, the off-court focus is on the first in-person CBA negotiations. The league and its players’ union are looking to secure a new deal starting the 2026 season.

Barlage says Cleveland is “absolutely monitoring” the news around the CBA, but he says the organization is “staying completely out of it.”

“We feel fortunate. By the time we start in 2028, a lot of those things should be ironed out,” Barlage says.