When it comes to sports, Netflix has been steadfast in producing documentaries, but not live content or prerecorded games. 

However, CEO Reed Hastings could make an exception for a single property: Formula 1.

“A few years ago, the rights to Formula 1 were sold. At that time, we were not among the bidders — today we would think about it,” Hastings told Der Spiegel.

Netflix docuseries “Drive to Survive” has been largely credited for F1’s 39% growth in viewership from 2019 to 2021. The show is currently filming its fourth season.

• ESPN holds U.S. broadcasting rights to F1 through 2022. F1 will race in Austin in October and add a stop in Miami in 2022. ESPN hopes to re-up on a long-term deal.
• Sky Sports struck a deal to air F1 in the U.K. from 2019 to 2024 for $1.37 billion. Canal+ holds rights in France through 2024.
• F1 has discussed a broadcasting deal with Amazon.

To stream any other live sport, Hastings says Netflix would require a level of exclusivity that leagues don’t generally offer.

“We don’t own the Bundesliga, they can make deals with whoever they want,” he explained. “But that kind of control would be a prerequisite for us to be able to offer our customers a safe deal.”

The popularity of “Drive to Survive” and Michael Jordan documentary “The Last Dance” has spurred numerous other sports docuseries, including upcoming Netflix-produced series on NASCAR driver Bubba Wallace and the PGA Tour, and a recently released film about former F1 champ Michael Schumacher.

Manchester United’s broadcast revenue helped shore up their finances while playing in empty stadiums, but had the Super League taken off, they could have negotiated media deals on very different terms.

The club touched on the fallout from the Super League in its recent annual report, noting that it will pay UEFA $6.8 million to $13.6 million, plus around $5 million as part of a settlement with the Premier League.

It also nodded to the power dynamics that helped inspire the Super League in the first place, noting that Man U’s inability to bargain separately for media contracts can result in terms not “as favourable to us as we might otherwise be able to negotiate individually.”

• The team brought in $347.3 million in broadcasting revenue for the 12 months ending June 30 — up 88% year-over-year.
• This helped offset a 92% year-over-year plunge in matchday revenue to $9.7 million. 
• Man U lost $125.7 million in that period, nearly triple the previous year’s loss. The team had a combined profit of $216.7 million in the four years before the pandemic-affected 2019-2020 season.

The Premier League distributes half its media revenue evenly across its teams, with the other half determined by games played and final standing. 

This system weighs on Manchester United’s ability to capitalize on its popularity. They have the most social media followers of any Premier League team (over 143 million) and  just acquired Cristiano Ronaldo, the most followed athlete on Instagram (347 million).

Crypto.com announced on Wednesday that it will have a patch appearing on Philadelphia 76ers jerseys for the next six years, bringing the total value of the company’s deals with sports brands to more than $400 million.

The Hong-Kong based cryptocurrency operator’s deal with the 76ers is worth roughly $10 million annually, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal. The deal marks Crypto.com’s first in the NBA.

The two entities will also collaborate on NFTs.

Crypto.com has been quite aggressive about establishing a footprint in sports.

• It signed a one-year sponsorship deal with the NHL’s Montreal Canadiens in March. 
• It announced a five-year, $100 million global partnership with Formula 1 in June. 
• It signed a 10-year, $175 million branding deal with UFC in July. 
• It secured a multiyear partnership with Serie A in August. 
• Last week, it inked a three-year, $29.5 million to $35.4 million deal with Paris Saint-Germain.

Introduced in 2016, NBA jersey patches have sold for an average of $7 million to $10 million per year.

Earlier this week, the Los Angeles Lakers secured a five-year jersey patch sponsorship worth more than $100 million with Bibigo, a brand under CJ CheilJedang, the No. 1 food company in South Korea.

The same day as the second-ever Leagues Cup final, MLS and Liga MX announced plans to interrupt their regular seasons for a month and expand the tournament to all 47 teams, starting in 2023.

This year’s tournament had just four teams from each league and did not interrupt the regular season. 

The expanded tournament will be an official competition of the CONCACAF Champions League with three qualifying spots and take place entirely in the U.S. and Canada. 

Revenue from sponsorships and ticket sales will be split between the leagues.

• The leagues will form a joint venture to sell the tournament’s international media rights.
• MLS currently earns $90 million each season for media rights, with the MLS Cup bringing in 1.07 million viewers last year — a 30% increase from 2019. 
• The tournament will be included as a property in MLS’ and Soccer United Marketing’s media rights deal that starts in 2023. It’s not clear if the tourney will come as a bundle with regular-season games.

Details on prize money and tournament format will be announced in the coming months.

Liga MX president Mikel Arriola says the expanded tournament will “raise playing standards and quality,” and in turn, “economic benefits can be reinvested, creating a virtuous cycle” for development among teams ahead of the 2026 World Cup. 

Co-hosted by the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, it will be the first World Cup to feature 48 countries.