The Netflix Slam Gave Great Live Tennis And Even Better Streaming Marketing

October 2024 · 6 minute read

Netflix stuck the landing on a star-studded exhibition match between tennis superstars Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz this weekend. Stakes were high on the court, but the Las Vegas showdown was most effective as a lush advertisement for the streamer as a fledgling live sports destination.

Taking over the Mandalay Bay’s Michelob Ultra Arena, the inaugural Netflix Slam pit legend Nadal against 20-year-old Alcaraz. Rafa, as Nadal is affectionately known to millions of global fans, had not played since a hip injury flared up in 2023. Nadal has only faced Alcaraz a handful of times in his career and wound up losing to the prodigy in a nail-biting tie break.

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No one really lost, though. Least of all Netflix. Branding was so pervasive in the hotel and casino that pedestrians lined up 100 deep to take photos in front of a “Netflix Slam” sign, installed on a massive wall of tennis balls. The service attracted in-house talent like Charlize Theron (star of Netflix’s “The Old Guard,” who just wrapped production on a sequel), Catherine Zeta-Jones (of the massive hit “Wednesday”) with husband Michael Douglas and Colin Kaepernick (Ava DuVernay’s “Colin in Black & White”) to sit courtside.

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Worldwide Netflix viewers were treated to a format-busting televised match. With no advertising breaks and conventional b-roll packages, a group of game veterans including Andre Agassi and Andy Roddick served live commentary panel-style. A few promos for upcoming Netflix projects were slotted in over the three-hour broadcast.

In the bowels of the arena, Netflix built a talent lounge with a merchandising booth handing out half-zip sweaters that read “Netflix Sports Club,” mini duffel bags, Nike visors and chic sweat towels. La Roche-Posay, a cult favorite skincare line from French pharmacies that’s recently made a big American push and become the “official sunscreen” of the U.S. Open, passed out product freely.

Many of the streamer’s executive team showed, despite gale force winds cancelling or delaying incoming flights from Las Angeles to Vegas (Skydance CEO David Ellison was also spotted, producer of Theron’s “Old Guard). Co-CEO Greg Peters, chief content officer Bela Bajaria, chief marketing officer Marian Lee and vice president of nonfiction sports Gabe Spitzer all came to shake hands.

This is the second-ever live sporting event to air on Netflix, following a golf classic last year. When asked how many of these splashy live events Netflix was looking to do each year in the sports category, Spitzer said there was “no set volume.” He views live programming as an extension of his division’s filmed sports content.

“Look at a traditional sports network that has a ton of live games, and maybe they’ll put on a documentary after and hope people watch it. This is almost the inverse. We’ve built some great momentum and great viewership for our sports documentaries and [live] is an extension of that,” he said.

Spitzer added that the Netflix engineering team is becoming nimbler – which could mean more spontaneous live programming.

“We’re flexible. If we found out there was a great live production happening next month, we can figure it out. If it’s nine months from now, obviously, you have more time and you can hopefully make it slightly better. Knowing that we have this capability at Netflix allows us to do that,” he said.

The Slam was also a boon for the Mandalay Bay. The venue sold out its nearly 10,000 arena seats, with many Spanish-speaking devotees of national heroes Nadal and Alcaraz (cat calls of “Vamos, Rafa!” and “Carlito!” were so frequent that the crowd often shushed them en masse). While the event aired live in the afternoon in America, it was primetime in Spain. Netflix leaned heavily into the global-facing nature of the match and held press conferences and courtside commentary in both English and Spanish.

Nadal seemed preoccupied with upcoming competitive matches like the forthcoming Indian Wells tournament, where he’ll potentially face off against Alcaraz again. We couldn’t help but ask him, while sitting against a “Netflix Slam” step and repeat, if he would ever consider getting into the content production game. So many athletes of his caliber, including Tom Brady and LeBron James, have opened production companies and dabbled in acting post-retirement.

“It’s not in my life plan,” Nadal told Variety. “Let’s see. My mind Is always open for what can happen, with a motivation to learn and improve. My life after tennis is well prepared, but I’m always open to new things.”

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