Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters talks about the company’s sports strategy; CBS Sports president/CEO David Berson discusses potential PGA Tour schedule changes; and Clayton Kershaw is reportedly nearing a deal to join NBC MLB coverage. Plus news on ESPN, Rick Rizzs, The CW and Dan Kolko.
Netflix exec Peters backs monthly ‘must-see’ sporting events
Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters told Stratechery’s Ben Thompson on “The Daily Update Interview” that the company’s “working hypothesis” is that it should aim for at least one ‘must-see’ event for sports fans per month. With the streamer continuing to pursue an ‘event’ strategy rather than the acquisition of full-season packages, having a regular schedule of events would presumably reduce churn.
“We’re trying to build a strategic understanding of how sports fit into this live strategy,” Peters said, again restating the streamer’s event approach: “[W]e want to think about it as an event, and, ‘How do we bring more specialness, if you will, around it?’ Whether it’s adding talent to a football game, let’s say, or creating events that have never existed before,” referring to the free climbing event Netflix carried over the weekend.
Peters, who has worked at Netflix since 2008, has seen its sports portfolio grow to include deals with the NFL, MLB and FIFA Women’s World Cup, plus sports-adjacent properties like the WWE — which he called “a retention driver.” Netflix also recently aired an event it created with free solo climber Alex Honnold scaling Taipei 101 without safety gear.
Peters also addressed the company’s agreement to purchase streaming and studio assets owned by Warner Bros. Discovery (pending regulatory approval), saying that the company entered the process thinking of itself as builders rather than buyers. When asked about HBO and Netflix existing as one service, Peters did not provide a definitive answer, saying only that the company can make a “win-win” and a better, lower-priced product for consumers.
Berson talks about potential scarcity concept with PGA Tour
CBS Sports president/CEO David Berson appeared to endorse the possibility of a reduced PGA Tour schedule during a conference call this week. Per Josh Carpenter of Sports Business Journal, Berson said that having events of “more consequence … featuring the best players in the world playing against each other more often” is an ‘exciting’ prospect.
The PGA Tour formed a nine-member Future Competitions Committee with guiding principles of “parity, scarcity and simplicity” under PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp. Speaking at a press conference in the Hero World Challenge last month, committee chairman Tiger Woods said his belief that the group would create “a product that is far better than what we have now for everyone involved.”
CBS Sports holds the broadcast rights to the PGA Tour through 2030 and is debuting a new commentary team this weekend from the Farmers Insurance Open. Longtime host Jim Nantz will be working alongside analysts Trevor Immelman and Colt Knost, the latter of whom is transitioning from being an on-course reporter following the retirement of Ian Baker-Finch last August.
Kershaw reportedly nearing deal with NBC
Former Los Angeles Dodgers SP and three-time World Series champion Clayton Kershaw is reportedly nearing a deal to join NBC in a studio role for its baseball coverage, per Ryan Glasspiegel of Front Office Sports. Kershaw, who retired after 18 seasons in the major leagues, would be the first studio hire for NBC as it prepares to embark on a three-year deal to televise a slate of MLB games. It remains unknown how often Kershaw would appear on the airwaves throughout the regular season and postseason action.
Kershaw is participating in the 2026 World Baseball Classic as a member of Team USA. The three-time Cy Young Award winner does not have any previous experience as an analyst for a broadcast network. Adding Kershaw would continue a trend for NBC Sports in hiring players recently removed from the game, demonstrated in its NBA coverage with contributions from Carmelo Anthony, Vince Carter and Austin Rivers.
NBC Sports announced last week that Bob Costas would be returning to the network as the on-site host of “Sunday Night Baseball” coverage. The parameters of a potential role for Kershaw have not yet been revealed, including whether he would do studio and on-site work for the company.
NBC is said to have interest in Anthony Rizzo and Joey Votto for its MLB coverage as well, according to a report earlier this month by Andrew Marchand of The Athletic.
Plus: ESPN, Rick Rizzs, The CW, Dan Kolko
- ESPN will present a 24-hour event on Sunday, Feb. 8 titled “The Handoff,” officially beginning the countdown to the network’s first Super Bowl next year. Several studio shows will broadcast from various locations in the Los Angeles metropolitan area, including “Get Up,” “First Take” and “Super Bowl Live,” and it will begin with a ceremonial “hand off” from Chris Berman to Scott Van Pelt at SoFi Stadium/Hollywood Park.
- Seattle Mariners radio play-by-play announcer Rick Rizzs revealed this week that the upcoming 2026 season will be his last as the team’s primary announcer. Rizzs will be broadcasting home games while taking on a reduced schedule of away matchups, but he pledged to be present for all potential postseason games.
- The CW Network has reached a media rights deal for The MGM Slam, a knockout singles tennis event played for a $1 million prize on Sunday, March 1 from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nev. The event, which was first known as the Netflix Slam, is slated to include longtime tennis broadcasters Ted Robinson and Chris McKendry.
- Dan Kolko will be succeeding Bob Carpenter as the television play-by-play voice of the Washington Nationals, according to a report by Chelsea Janes of The Washington Post. Kolko, who has been covering the team for more than a decade, has filled in on play-by-play over the last few seasons and has also called college basketball games for Fox Sports.
