Analysis: How Streamers Are Taking Live TV to New Heights
Netflix, Apple TV and Prime Video are moving into live programming like never before – but why now and what changes are on the horizon?
There was a time when live entertainment was seen as broadcasting’s last great line of defense against the rise of global streamers. Live sport, in particular, was regarded as the unassailable domain of pay-TV: too expensive, too local and too operationally complex for on-demand platforms built around boxsets and binging.
Fast-forward to today and those assumptions no longer hold. Over the past three years, global streamers have moved decisively into live programming – first through eye-catching sports rights deals, and increasingly through live entertainment, awards shows, fan events and high-concept one-off s. Live is no longer the antithesis of streaming; it is becoming one of its most potent strategic tools.
Live Opportunity
Later this year, Netflix will stage one of its most ambitious live events to date: a global special focused on the comeback of Korean boy band BTS, produced by Done+Dusted and streamed live from Seoul. For Melanie Fletcher, chief executive and executive producer at Done+Dusted North America, Netflix’s embrace of live represents a major opportunity for producers.
“We feel pretty lucky in this moment,” she says. “Live is suddenly being talked about as a driver of audiences, subscriptions and advertising – and that’s been the basis of our business for almost 30 years. Almost everything we do is live.”
Done+Dusted’s credits span decades of high-end live production ranging from the FIFA Club World Cup Half Time Show to The Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade, while its co-founder Hamish Hamilton directs the Oscars and Super Bowl half-time shows.
What has changed, Fletcher says, is not the value of live, but who is commissioning it. “We still work with traditional broadcasters,” she explains. “But now we also work with streamers and digital platforms – YouTube, TikTok, Twitch – anywhere a live feed and entertainment collide.”
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