Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos recently addressed a wide range a topics in an interview with Variety, including the abundance of criticism Meghan Markle has been facing since her new lifestyle show, With Love, Meghan made its debut in early March on the streaming platform.
But given the company’s recent splash into live sports programming, signing a major 10-year, $5 billion deal with the WWE to stream Monday Night Raw-along with Netflix’s record-setting Christmas Day NFL doubleheader last year-the topic of future live sporting events arose.
Specifically, Sarandos was asked if Netflix would be able to land Taylor Swift to perform for an NFL Christmas Day game “before she does the Super Bowl.”
Taylor Swift and Donna Kelce celebrate after the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Buffalo Bills 32-29 in the AFC Championship Game on January 26, 2025.
David Eulitt/Getty Images “That’s a good challenge!” Sarandos said.
“We did get her in the stadium this year.”
Despite the enthusiasm from Sarandos, and given Swift’s frequent appearances at NFL games over the last two seasons, several outlets reported at the time that the singer was not in attendance this past Christmas Day to watch boyfriend Travis Kelce’s record-breaking moment in the Chiefs 29-10 win over the Steelers.
However, since the Christmas Day game is once again set for Netflix this year, and given the deep financial commitment with the WWE, it wouldn’t exactly come as a shock if Sarandos were to make a serious run at getting Swift to perform on the holiday.
Regarding the Super Bowl itself, Sarandos explained that Netflix essentially demonstrated it can technically support a Super Bowl-sized audience after streaming the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson fight back on Nov. 15, but that “it’s a tough economic model to thread” for Netflix when compared to how much money the NFL gets from the networks.
“We’ll have a few more [live events] we will pepper in annually,” Sarandos said.
“It will be a small part of total viewing, proportionally to budget, but they should all punch above their weight.”
So while the Super Bowl might not be in the immediate future plans for Netflix, Sarandos certainly didn’t dismiss the idea of having Taylor Swift performing for an NFL game come Christmas Day.
