Netflix considering livestreaming

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According to a Deadline report, Netflix is now working on streaming alternatives for stand-up specials and other live programming.

The report says that support for livestreams might allow Netflix to broadcast live reunions, such as the one recently staged by the real estate reality show Selling Sunset, as well as enable live voting for the competition series.

The feature might potentially be used by Netflix to broadcast live comedy specials. Netflix conducted its first-ever live and in-person comedy event this year, dubbed the Netflix Is a Joke Fest.

The three-day festival in Los Angeles included approximately 130 prominent comedians, including Ali Wong, Bill Burr, Jerry Seinfeld, John Mulaney, and others.

Netflix will begin streaming some of the performances filmed during the event later this month and into June, but a live option might allow customers at home to watch shows as they happen if Netflix resumes the festival in 2023.

According to The Verge, the introduction of livestreams could help Netflix better compete with its competitors, like Disney Plus, which has already included livestreams.

In February, Disney Plus broadcast the Academy Awards live and will be come the new home for Dancing With the Stars, which will premiere as a live series on the platform later this year.

Netflix reported losing members for the first time in over a decade in its most recent financial report, while Disney Plus confirmed 7.9 million new users in the first quarter of 2022. Netflix has hinted at potentially tightening down on password sharing as well as providing a cheaper ad-supported streaming alternative to help offset a drop in income and subscribers.