Netflix moves into livestreaming with a Chris Rock stand-up special

The Future. Shortly after rolling out its long-awaited ad-supported subscription tier, Netflix has announced that it will host its first live-streamed show early next year — a Chris Rock stand-up special. If the show goes well, it could light the way for a larger Netflix live-streaming initiative that could include sports streaming.

Like TV, but real
Netflix announced its live-streaming initiative back in May, but this will be its first offering.

• Set to stream in early 2023, the stand-up special will be Chris Rock’s second with Netflix and seventh overall.
• Rock is always likely to attract a big audience due to his popularity and prowess in comedy. But there’s a chance he’ll draw an even larger one since he has intimated that, with this special, he’ll finally publicly address “The Slap.”
• The special will be a key test of whether or not Netflix can handle the issue of latency since live events are particularly subject to signal delays. If it goes off without a hitch, Netflix will probably pursue live-streaming more aggressively.

In recent months, a few broadcasters’ sports streaming apps have crashed, so the risk is a real possibility.

Cast a wide net
Thanks to the extremely competitive nature of streaming, Netflix is trying to diversify its offerings, and live-streaming might be the perfect way to do just that. It’s a fair bet, especially because Netflix is following in the footsteps of Disney+ with this live-streaming initiative — just like they did with their ad-supported tier.

Netflix is also looking into gaming and sports streaming. Like live-streamed comedy content, though, both of these ideas live or die on Netflix’s ability to conquer latency. Break a leg, guys.