How Bela Bajaria Is Turning Netflix Into A Live Events Powerhouse

Watch on YouTube ↗  |  September 17, 2026 at 14:00  |  29:53  |  CNBC
Speakers
Bela Bajaria — Chief Content Officer, Netflix

Summary

Alex Sherman interviews Netflix Chief Content Officer Bela Bajaria in Melbourne about Netflix's live events and sports strategy. They discuss how Netflix eventizes sports and cultural moments to drive acquisition, retention, and advertising, and Bela explains why she remains confident in Netflix's strategy despite the stock's 15% year-to-date decline. The conversation also covers YouTube competition, AI tools, podcasts, streaming ingestion, and theatrical releases.

  • Bela Bajaria defines a Netflix event as a buzzy, unmissable cultural moment.
  • Netflix is eventizing sports, including NFL games, WWE, boxing, and the Women's World Cup.
  • Live events are a small share of content budget but drive outsized customer acquisition.
  • Netflix sees advertising as a key factor supporting sports investments.
  • Bela says Netflix will stay disciplined and not pivot despite the stock being down over 15% this year.
  • Netflix remains committed to film, TV, podcasts, and selective theatrical releases.
  • Netflix is open to ingesting third-party content, but deals depend on details.
  • AI is viewed as an optional creator tool, not a mandate.
Ideas
Bela Bajaria Chief Content Officer, Netflix 1:31
Live events drive Netflix acquisitions and retention.
Netflix's live events strategy is to eventize select sports and cultural moments—such as NFL games, WWE, boxing, music concerts, and extreme stunts—rather than buy generic sports rights. These events create global conversation, cultural relevance, and appointment TV, which drives customer acquisition and retention. Live is only about 5% of the content budget and 1% of engagement but has produced 6 of the top 10 customer-acquisition moments.
NFLX HIGH
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This CNBC video, published September 17, 2026, features Bela Bajaria discussing NFLX. 1 trade idea extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.

Speakers: Bela Bajaria  · Tickers: NFLX