Netflix is exploring live streaming for its unscripted shows and stand-up specials, report claims

From gaming to ‘Fast Laughs’, Netflix has broadened its offerings in recent months amid a huge slump in user subscriptions.

Now, a new report claims that Netflix is exploring another new avenue – live-streaming.

The report, by Deadline, claims that Netflix is considering live-streaming its unscripted shows and stand-up specials.

The capability would also mean that Netflix could include live voting for competitions and reality TV programmes, including The Circle.

A new report claims that Netflix is exploring live streaming its unscripted shows and stand-up specials

NETFLIX’S UK PRICE INCREASES 

Basic: £5.99 to £6.99 (one screen at a time)

Standard: £9.99 to £10.99 (two screens at a time, HD available)

Premium: £13.99 to £15.99 (four screens at a time, Ultra HD available)

More info: Netflix.com  

According to Deadline, Netflix has confirmed it is in the ‘early stages of development’ for live streaming.

‘The move opens up the potential to order a whole new raft of unscripted series to use the technology, bringing it in to line with the linear networks, which often air live specials for big competition series such as ABC’s American Idol and Dancing with the Stars, which is moving to Disney+,’ the report says.

Live streaming could be used in various ways across the platform.

Reunions for shows such as Love Is Blind or Selling Sunset could be streamed live, while competition and talent shows such as The Circle could have live voting.

It could also be used to live stream Netflix Is A Joke – its live comedy festival featuring more than 130 performers, including Larry David, Pete Davidson and Snoop Dogg.

‘In future, [Netflix} could potentially air shows live, albeit with a few seconds delay in case things get saucy,’ Deadline wrote.

Meanwhile, one of the most obvious options would be to live-stream sports, following the success of programmes such as Formula 1: Drive to Survive. 

Unfortunately, a timeline and further details for the project remain unclear, although MailOnline has contacted Netflix for comment.

The report comes shortly after Netflix sped up plans to introduce a cheaper, advert-subsidised plan for users who are perhaps contemplating cancelling the streaming service, as it tries to shake off a shockingly bad first quarter.

Reunions for shows such as Love Is Blind or Selling Sunset (pictured) could be streamed live, while competition and talent shows such as The Circle could have live voting

Reunions for shows such as Love Is Blind or Selling Sunset (pictured) could be streamed live, while competition and talent shows such as The Circle could have live voting

Netflix on April 19 announced it had lost 200,000 subscribers in the first three months of the year – the first time in a decade their numbers have fallen, and a dramatic reversal of their aim of adding 2.5 million.

They said they expect to lose two million more in the second quarter, and the share price fell significantly, wiping away roughly $70 billion in the company’s market capitalisation.

In response, Reed Hastings, Netflix’s co-chief executive, said the company was considering introducing adverts on a cheaper subscription package, and would ‘figure it out over the next year or two.’

A note to employees, obtained by The New York Times on Tuesday, showed the pace of the proposal has drastically accelerated, and the new cheaper offering will be brought in in the final quarter.

‘Yes, it’s fast and ambitious and it will require some trade-offs,’ the note said.

‘Every major streaming company excluding Apple has or has announced an ad-supported service,’ the note said.

‘For good reason, people want lower-priced options.’ 

Netflix is also being sued by investors who claim the streaming giant misled them about subscriber growth in the six months before it reported the loss of subscribers, leading to a plunge in stock price. 

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, was filed in San Francisco federal court alleging that Netflix violated U.S. securities laws by making ‘materially false and/or misleading statements’ and because it ‘failed to disclose material adverse facts about the company’s business, operations and prospects.’

The lead plaintiff ‘Pirani v. Netflix Inc et al’ is Fiyyaz Pirani, a trustee of Imperium Irrevocable Trust, which is a Netflix shareholder, is named in the lawsuit that seeks damages for declines in the company’s share price this year after the company missed its subscriber growth estimates. 

The lawsuit was filed just days after it was reported by Deadline that Netflix had dropped Meghan Markle’s animated series as part of a wave of cutbacks prompted by the streaming service’s drop in subscribers. 

Filed by a Texas-based investment trust, the lawsuit accused Los Gatos, California-based Netflix and its top executives of failing to disclose that its growth was slowing amid increased competition and that it was losing subscribers on a net basis.

The lawsuit seeks damages for investors who traded Netflix shares between October 19, 2021 and April 19, 2022 – which include ‘compensatory damages’ with an ‘amount to be proven at trial.’

WHAT ARE THE VIDEO STREAMING OPTIONS AVAILABLE TO UK CUSTOMERS?

Netflix 

Price: From £6.99 a month  

Hit shows: 

Amazon Prime 

Price: £7.99 per month OR £79 per year

Hit shows: 

  • Tom Clancy’s Jack Ryan
  • The Boys  

Apple TV+

Price: £4.99 a month 

Hit shows

  • Ted Lasso 
  • For All Mankind  

Disney+

Price: £7.99 a month OR £79.90 a year

Hit shows:

  • The Mandalorian 
  • The Simpsons  

NOW TV

Price: From £9.99 a month

Hit shows: 

  • Game of Thrones 
  • Chernobyl  

hayu 

Price: £4.99 a month

Hit shows: 

  • Keeping up with the Kardashians
  • Made in Chelsea  

BritBox

Price: £5.99 a month 

Hit shows: 

  • Spitting Image 
  • Midsomer Murders  

Prices correct as of April 2022 

***
Read more at DailyMail.co.uk