Netflix increasingly interested in live sports, bid for ATP tennis tour: report

Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX) has shown an increase in bringing live sports to its platform, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Journal cited people familiar with the discussions as saying Netflix (NFLX) recently bid on the streaming rights for the ATP tennis tour for some European countries, including the UK and France, but eventually dropped its efforts.

It’s possible that Netflix (NFLX) dropped out of the bidding due to the costs of such rights. The Journal added that Netflix (NFLX), which had 223.1M subscribers as of the end of the third-quarter, could look to other lower-profile sports such as surfing, as CEO Reed Hastings has said the company does not want to get into bidding Wars every few years and could look to buy Stakes in sports leagues.

But, that doesn’t mean that Netflix (NFLX) has given up on streaming live sports. The Journal said Netflix (NFLX) has discussed bidding on other events, including the UK rights to the Womens Tennis Association and cycling competitions.

Additionally, Netflix (NFLX) also reportedly discussed last year buying the World Surf League, but talks fizzled over the price.

Netflix (NFLX) shares rose more than 2% to $263.90 in mid-day trading.

Historically, Netflix (NFLX) has shied away from adding live sports to its programming, but has recently added shows and documentaries, including the The Last Dancea multi-part documentary about the 1998 Chicago Bulls and racing-themed Formula 1: Drive to Survive.

Los Gatos, California-based Netflix (NFLX) bid on the US streaming rights for Formula One, but missed out after Disney’s (NYSE:DIS) ESPN won the auction.

Streaming services have increasingly turned to live sports in an effort to boost subscribers and viewership, with Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN) having won the rights to the National Football League’s Thursday Night Football, while Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has entered into deals with Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer.

Late last month, Netflix (NFLX) expanded its deal with Walmart (WMT) to bring streaming-show Merchandise into brick-and-mortar stores across the US