Netflix eyes live TV, third-party streaming bundles

Netflix shares rose in premarket trading after reports that company executives have discussed adding live TV channels and offering subscriptions to other streaming services through the Netflix app. The stock initially slipped on the news before reversing course. Over the past 12 months the shares have fallen more than 39%.

Company leaders have discussed continuously streaming channels that would run specific programs or genre-based lineups. They have also considered selling subscriptions to other streaming services inside the Netflix platform, allowing customers to subscribe without leaving the app. In one market Netflix has begun carrying programming from a local broadcaster and it is assessing similar licensing and distribution deals in parts of Europe and Latin America.

Executives have evaluated bids for major international soccer tournaments in 2030 and 2034 while generally avoiding long-term, high-cost league contracts. Sports rights are being considered as a way to bring viewers to live streams.

The discussions are part of a strategic review prompted by weakening viewer engagement flagged during the company’s annual business review this spring. Nielsen data show Netflix’s share of U.S. streaming time fell to 17% from 21% over the two years through March 2026. Its share of total U.S. TV viewership dropped to 7.8% in April, the lowest level since May 2025.

Netflix has broadened its content mix to include lower-cost offerings such as video podcasts, licensed online videos and short-form content from publishers, and it has expanded an ad-supported tier. The company reported roughly $1.5 billion in advertising revenue last year and said it expects to roughly double ad sales in 2026. Live programming is viewed internally as a way to increase ad impressions because commercials during live streams generally cannot be skipped.

The company faces growing competition from other streaming and ad-supported platforms and has drawn investor scrutiny after an unsuccessful pursuit of studio and streaming assets earlier this year. Netflix is scheduled to report quarterly results next week and will publish an updated engagement report with fresh viewership data.

Citizens Financial maintained a Market Perform rating on Netflix while noting the company benefits from scale and distribution but faces questions about engagement. Analyst Matthew Condon warned, “Rising churn could threaten Netflix’s competitive position.” Harding Loevner portfolio manager Uday Cheruvu noted the trend is not yet a concern but remains under observation.